


Quality Time

by Obscurilicious



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-01 03:02:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 31,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17859020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obscurilicious/pseuds/Obscurilicious
Summary: This takes place over the course of a couple years beginning in summer 2010. In Choices, I examined the path Billy wound up on because of making the choice to work with Rawlins. In this, I’m imagining how things could have gone differently if he had someone in his life that filled some of the emptiness from his childhood.





	1. Chapter 1

“Catch me, Aunt Y/N!” Frank Jr. said as he launched himself into the shallow end of the neighborhood pool. You were the fun Aunt, the one who spoiled them and bought them presents for no reason and played with them as if you were another kid.

You weren’t really their aunt, of course, but you and Maria had been friends and as close as sisters for years. Hell, you had been in the delivery room with her when Frank Jr. had been born with his Dad on deployment somewhere in the desert.

And you loved Frank, too. He was tough and a bit distant, but once he warmed up to you he treated you like a baby sister.

His biggest flaw in your eyes was his taste in friends. You frowned thinking about what an asshat Billy Russo was. You had only been around him a few times but, boy did he make a lasting impression. You went out of your way to avoid him, which wasn’t really that hard as he had no idea you existed and he deployed at the same time as Frank.

You were looking forward to seeing Frank, though. He had just returned from a six month tour that had turned into eight and the family were all on edge to have him back. He had returned a few days ago but you always stayed away at first so they could have family time. Not to mention his two month extension had made him miss Lisa’s birthday, so he would be making it up to his little girl.

Today was Saturday, so you were spending the day with them and Frank was going to display his awesome grill skills. First off was the pool, then home for burgers and brews. You had made homemade macaroni and cheese and extra chocolate brownies.

Frank had been helping a friend repair something or other and was joining you at the pool later, so Maria was sunning herself while you played in the pool with the kids, trying to keep them from getting too rowdy with the other swimmers.

“Hey!” you heard Frank yell as he arrived. “Look who decided to tag along!”

The kids rushed to climb out of the pool and swarm their Dad and…oh great. Russo.

“Daddy! Uncle Billy!” Lisa exclaimed.

Frank Jr. threw himself at Billy, who scooped him up and sat him on his shoulders, tossing the stocky five year old up like he weighed nothing and then picking up the seven year old Lisa in his other arm.

“Hey, ya little monsters! Who’s that you’re playing with?” he asked with a charming smile.

You rolled your eyes. You had met Billy on several occasions; all were memorable for you but the same apparently couldn’t be said for Billy. You dove underwater and swam to the other end of the pool, avoiding kicking legs and flailing arms as you cut through the water efficiently.

Swimming was your preferred mode of exercise and a source of peace, and you could certainly use the peace with that asshole showing up to ruin your day.

You came up for air and took up a section of shaded wall while you figured out what to do. You absolutely were not going to spend the day with that jackass, though. If he was staying, you were leaving.

You felt the water by your legs stir and then next thing you know, the object of your displeasure popped to the surface uncomfortably close to you.

“Hey, there,” he said with a devastating smile.

“Hi,” you replied shortly.

“You’re great with the kids,” he said, a little confused at the chilly response.

“They’re great kids,” you said honestly. “I try to spend as much time as I can with them to give Maria a break while Frank is deployed, so we do get along well, yeah.”

“That’s really great. Support back home is helpful for the one overseas.”

“Glad to help,” you said drily as you floated away a bit.

“Been friends with Maria long?” he asked pleasantly.

You scoffed. “Longer than she’s known Frank.”

Billy was at a loss. What was up with the hostility? Not to pat his own back, but he was pretty good with ladies. Were you gay? “So, how have we never met?”

You snorted and said, “Unbelievable,” as you hopped out of the pool, almost stomping over to Maria and Frank.

Billy appreciated the view of your long legs and firm ass bouncing away, but what the fuck?

* * *

“Hey, guys,” you tried to say casually when you reached Maria and a suspiciously smiling Frank. “I’m gonna head home. I forgot I have to go somewhere.” You knew they knew exactly where somewhere was: a place where Billy Russo wasn’t.

“Y/N,” Maria said, “we had plans, you made the great food. Can’t you just –”

You had a brittle smile when you said, “He just asked how we had never met.”

Frank burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. You shot him a dirty look as you slipped your feet into your Tom’s. “Just overjoyed that I could bring you happiness with my humiliation.”

Maria slapped Frank in the chest and said, “I’ll call you later.”

You nodded, called a goodbye to the kids and made your exit.

* * *

Billy was still in the pool playing with the kids when he heard you call out a goodbye and the kids returned it as if surprised.

“What’s wrong?” Billy asked Lisa.

“Aunt Y/N was supposed to stay for dinner.”

“I hope she doesn’t take the brownies,” Frank Jr. said as he tried to drown Billy by climbing on his head.

“Aunt Y/N?” he said, knowing that the name rang a bell.

“Yeah,” Lisa answered like he was an idiot.

“She’s my Godmother!” Frank Jr. added.

“No, buddy, I’m your Godfather.”

“Yeah, you both are.”

How the hell did he not know you?

* * *

“C'mon, kids,” Maria called a few minutes later.

“Awww, Mom!” they chorused.

“Listen to your Mother!” Frank hollered.

Billy followed the kids to the edge of the pool, levering himself out smoothly, knowing that all female eyes and a lot of male eyes were enjoying the sight. Billy knew he was good looking and he used it as any other tool, and it rarely failed him.

He went and dried off, wrapped a towel around his waist and followed the family home, so lost in his thoughts he didn’t even notice the dirty looks Maria was shooting him and Frank and the confused air around the children.

When they arrived at the Castle house, Maria sent the kids up to change and warned them to bring their suits down to hang out, then shot Frank a look before she went to the kitchen.

“You and Maria have a fight, man?” he said as he pulled clothes out of his bag to change into.

“Fuck, brother, you really are oblivious sometimes,” Frank said with a laugh.

“Me? What’d I do?” Billy asked, the picture of innocence.

“Go change and I’ll grab us a couple brews.”

“Yeah OK,” he answered suspiciously.

* * *

Billy changed in the downstairs half bath and went into the kitchen looking for Frank.

“Hey, where’s Frankie?” he asked.

Maria was chopping vegetables and pointed at him with the knife in her hand. “You –” she began angrily, then took a breath and pointed to the back door.

Billy went out the back door, forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What the fuck, man? Maria just waved a knife at me!”

“Did you really ask Y/N how you had never met her before?” Frank asked in amazement.

“Yeah, beautiful girl like that? I’d remember meeting her,” Billy defended himself.

“Brother, you’ve met her at least a dozen times before.”

“No fuckin’ way, man. You shittin’ me?”

“Shit you not.”

“Like when?”

“Like when she was maid of honor in our wedding?”

“I was the best man!”

“Yep, that is true,” Frank said, taking a swig of beer.

“You telling me I walked her down the aisle and have no memory of it?” he said incredulously. “No, wait a minute! I remember, the girl I was with walked on a cane and like had an eye patch and a limp.”

“Yeah, she’d been in a really bad accident. Was actually still in a wheelchair most of the time then. Dragged herself out of it for the wedding.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. And later you begged Curt to take your spot so you could hit on a pretty bridesmaid, said you didn’t know why you got stuck with Quasimodo.”

“Shit.”

“Gets better: she heard you.”

“Shit.” Billy couldn’t think of another response, but it summed things up pretty well after all.

“She was at Lisa’s christening, her First Communion, every birthday party, stood Godmother for Frank Jr. when we were overseas, hell, you won a Euchre tournament with her a couple years ago.”

“That was her?” Billy exclaimed in shock.

“You were shitfaced but yeah, you two were the only people not already partnered up, so you played all evening with her.” He drank again. “Sometimes you can be a real dick, brother.”

“Oh, thanks, man.” He drank his beer. “She left coz I came over?”

“Yep.”

“And Maria’s pissed at me?”

“Both of us.”

“Shit.”

“Yep.”

“What do I do, man?”

“Apologize. Be a man.”

Billy stood up and straightened his spine. He was a United States Marine. He had faced fire fights with enemies who wanted him dead just because of the uniform he wore. He had gone through incredibly intensive training to earn a place in the Special Forces. He was not afraid to face one angry Italian wife with a knife in her hand.

“Come with me?” he said to Frank.

* * *

“Look, Maria, I said I’m sorry! I’ll make it up to you!” he said, best puppy dog eyes in play.

“I already have two children, Bill, I don’t need another one,” she hissed at him, not wanting the kids to hear the argument through the open screen door. “Besides, it isn’t me you should make it up to.”

“She left rather than be in the same house as me, Maria. How do I do that?” he responded, throwing his hands up. “How do you even apologize for calling someone Quasimodo at a wedding?”

Maria got the most stunned, offended expression he had ever seen on her face. “You did what now?”

“Frank…said she heard me…she didn’t tell you?” he said, a note of panic in his voice.

“No,” she growled through gritted teeth. “And neither did my late husband.”

“Oh, shit,” Billy whispered as Maria stalked over to the back door and called Frank inside.

“Stay outside,” she ordered the wide-eyed children, slamming the door when Frank came inside. As she spoke her voice grew progressively louder until she was screaming. “He called her Quasimodo?”

“I didn’t know she didn’t know,” Billy whispered quickly when Frank gave him a death look.

“Now, honey,” he began.

“Don’t. You. Now. Honey. Me. Frank Castle! You knew about this and never told me?” she said as she got up in his face.

Frank being Frank, he didn’t back down. “Yeah I knew. Curtis told me. What was I supposed to do, tell my new wife who was pregnant and emotional that my best friend insulted hers? No thanks!”

“Look,” Billy interrupted, “this is my fault, Maria. And I’m gonna do the right thing and go grovel. So where does she live?”

“I’m not giving you her address so you can go do some half-assed apology and try to get her into bed!” Maria thundered.

“Whoa, OK,” he said, hands up in surrender. “I will be a perfect gentleman, apologize and leave. I just want her to know that I feel bad for how I behaved.”

Maria stared him down with narrowed eyes and, hand to God, Billy had never been this disturbed in combat. “You so much as consider flirting with her and I will see to it you don’t have to worry about knocking your sluts up anymore.”

Billy’s eyes flew open wide in shock and Frank grabbed him and pushed him into the living room. “She just threaten my nuts, Frankie?”

“Yeah, yeah she did,” he said a little proudly.

“Your wife is terrifying.”

“Yep. Gonna go calm her down. She lives a couple blocks over,” he said, telling him the address. “Don’t make this worse, man. Y/N is good people.”

“Yeah, man. I’ll fix it. Promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

Billy walked out to his car slowly, deep in thought. He had been known to make an ass of himself when he drank too much. He had limited his intake for the last couple years because of it, really. Couple beers or a Scotch if he was feeling fancy and he was done, moved on to water or soda.

Sounds like a plan he should stick to if the way he had treated you was any indication.

He started the car and decided to make a stop at a flower shop on the way. Chicks liked flowers, right?

After a brief trip to a florist for an ‘I’m Sorry’ bouquet, he drove over to your house.

It was nicely kept, some flowers hanging in pots on the porch, a swing, grass cut, weeds pulled. There was a security sign in the flowerbed and Billy looked at the windows and door and noticed that they were all new and looked pretty sturdy. The windows were all covered so nothing could be seen inside. A glance up confirmed that the upstairs windows were also tightly covered. There was even a camera over the door and a light on the porch with a motion sensor.

_Y/N takes her security seriously_ , he thought

Billy took a deep breath and and knocked on the door.

* * *

You were sitting on your sofa reading a book and listening to music. You had decided that you needed old school music therapy and put on Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. You were rereading a favorite book and the combination was calming you.

It wasn’t really Billy so much as all of the memories he stirred up for you. You had refused to be in the wedding if you had to be in a wheelchair and Maria had refused to get married without you, so you had done your damnedest to be there for your friend. Everyone on her side of the aisle knew how close you had come to dying, and honestly, Billy hadn’t been precisely rude until…well, at least Curtis was nice.

In any case, it was in the past, and only the dull aches before a storm or the occasional headache remained of the physical injuries you had sustained.

So you read your book and listened to Elton John sing about prostitutes and old time TV and felt the tension drain away.

And then there was a knock at the door.

You looked over at your door and debated just ignoring it; you weren’t expecting anyone and you weren’t in the mood to be saved.

With a sigh, you set aside your book and got to your feet, reluctantly going to the door and looking out the peephole.

No. Way. That was absolutely not Billy Russo on your front porch with flowers.

You opened the door, knowing you were wearing your bitch face and totally fine with it. “Yes?”

Billy smiled at you in a way that probably made people who didn’t think he was evil incarnate giggle. “Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?”

You sighed heavily. “Sure.”

Billy waited a second and then said, “Ah, can I come in?”

“No,” you responded evenly.

“Oh. OK. Ah well…this is so uncomfortable.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. Please come in, virtual stranger who has insulted, ignored and forgotten me for like a decade,” you said in a monotone, yet made no move to open the door.

“OK, how about you come out here?” he said with a winning smile.

“Yeah, alright,” you grumbled as you walked out onto your porch and sat down in the middle of the swing, obviously not intending to share.

“I’d ask if I had done something to offend you,” he said shamedfacedly, “but I already know that I have.”

You shrugged, feeling strangely emotional.

“And I wanted to apologize to you. I know it doesn’t in any way excuse it, but I was wasted at the wedding, and let’s face it, I thought I was hot shit. I already thought I was the greatest thing in uniform without adding alcohol.”

You smiled insincerely and said, “Funny, Curtis managed to wear a uniform and still be a gentleman.”

“Well,” Billy replied with a genuine grin, “now, that is not a fair comparison. Curtis is Navy.”

You rolled your eyes and smirked.

“Now, I brought you a cliche peace offering and apologized, you gonna cut me some slack?”

You tipped your head sideways. “You apologized for the wedding.”

“Oh, yeah, the Euchre tournament. Sorry, was I a dick that day, too?”

“Well…” you hedged, “you were more of a dick to our opponents. And I like to win. So, I guess I can let that slide.”

Billy smiled at you: a warm, genuine smile. “What else do I need to grovel for?”

You made an incredulous face. “Grovel? I’ve seen no grovels.”

“This is as close as it gets for a Marine,” he joked.

“How on Earth does Maria stand it?” you snarked back.

“We have other qualities that make up for it,” he said with a wink.

You rolled your eyes. “Humility one of ‘em?”

Billy held his hands out to the side, grinning widely. “Hard to be humble when you’re this awesome.”

“So much bullshit. So you keep waving those flowers around. Were they for me or just a daring accessory?” you sassed him.

And for the first time Billy could remember when talking to a beautiful woman, he didn’t flirt. He handed you the flowers and said, “These are a mediocre apology for you, but here is a heartfelt one: I am truly sorry that I hurt you at a time when you least needed to be insulted. I am also sorry that I continued to ignore you for the rest of the time we should have been acquainted, and I’m sorry I hit on you today and made you feel bad.”

You accepted the flowers and considered his words. “Thank you for the flowers. Let me go put them in a vase.”

“OK,” he said with a smile, not moving to follow you, which you appreciated.

You went inside and found a vase, filled it with water and put the flowers in and then brought them to the living room and set them on the coffee table.

Walking back to the porch, you went back to the swing and sat to one side, patting the other seat for Billy. He moved away from the rail where he had been leaning and sat down cautiously.

“The flowers are nice, and I appreciate the apology.”

“Good,” he said sincerely.

You didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Why did you do this?”

“Maria was pissed at Frank for bringing me.”

“Ah,” you said, as if that was the missing piece. “What difference does it make? I’ve managed to avoid you most of the time for years.”

“No, wait,” he said quickly. “She was pissed but I was completely oblivious. So when Frank told me…well, I’m ashamed of my behavior. I didn’t even remember it, and that was… appalling. I cut back on my drinking a year or so ago, but it’s still,” he closed his eyes and whispered, “humiliating.”

“Hey,” you said quietly, patting his arm quickly. “I accept your apology. It’s in the past. Just…don’t hit on me, and I’ll try to restrain myself from hitting on you. Deal?”

Billy smirked and said, “Shouldn’t be hard for you, but I’ll be denying my basic nature.”

You laughed. “I bet you can find the strength to resist.”

He shook his head once, biting his lip. “I dunno. Might be rough.”

“Well, I will be sure to remind you if you start to ooze all over me,” you said drily.

Billy laughed. “Sounds about right. Listen, I’m gonna head home, but you should go on over to the Castle castle. The kids were upset when you went home.”

“Really? Frank Jr. wasn’t just worried about the brownies?” you asked skeptically.

“Lisa was upset when you went home,” he replied without missing a beat.

“Thought so,” you said with a chuckle. “Hmm. Well, if you’re sure you can fight the urge to seduce me, why don’t we both go?”

“Yeah?” he asked, surprised.

“Yeah. We’re like…best-friends-in-law. We should learn how to get along, I guess.”

Billy nodded and smiled. “I can work with that.”

* * *

You and Billy were able to be in the same room after that. That is to say, Billy behaved and you tolerated his presence for your friends’ sakes. You weren’t friends, really. You were friends of friends who spent time together.

You maybe didn’t mind him being around anymore. He was OK as a cards partner, but that was mostly because he was vicious and loved to win so together you were unbeatable.

And he was pretty good at trivia, so you tended to team up with him for that type of game. And when you went out as a group for trivia nights at the sports bar a few blocks away, you sat next to him because you were obviously the best players.

You definitely didn’t make brownies on Thanksgiving because he hated pumpkin pie. Frank Jr. loved your brownies!

You only got him a Christmas present because, well, it would make him feel bad to see everyone else get presents and not get one. That’s probably why he got you one, too.

You were totally not friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Billy and Frank were getting deployed and the traditional going away party was that night.

Wait…when did Billy start coming first in your thoughts? When did Billy become human in your thoughts?

When did you become friends with Billy Russo?

Normally you wouldn’t have gone to the party in the past because you avoided Billy, but since you loved Frank and were apparently fond of Billy now, you decided to make an appearance.

Not that Billy even knew you were there. Every single female – and a few whose husbands looked pissed – was gathered around Billy, listening to him bullshit while he decided which one was going to have the honor of warming his bed before he left the next morning.

“He’s somethin’ isn’t he?” Frank said as he came to stand next to you and dropped an arm across your shoulders. You were used to his casual affection but you still flinched a little.

“He is that,” you agreed.

“Doesn’t bother you that he’s surrounded?”

“Nah. He may as well have a good time. You guys won’t be having much fun for a while, let the kid enjoy himself.”

“The kid?” he said, surprise in his voice. “Billy’s like two years older than you, Y/N.”

“Huh,” you commented matter-of-factly. “Didn’t have a clue. He acts younger.”

“Yeah, I guess he does sometimes. Good man, though,” Frank hinted.

The hint flew right over your head. “Yeah, I never would have thought so, but he does seem to be a decent guy. Glad I don’t have to miss stuff to avoid him anymore,” you answered with a chuckle.

Frank shook his head minutely. You really were clueless. He had watched his best friend fall head over heels for you in the last months while they had been home but you truly seemed to be oblivious. As oblivious as Billy had been to offending you, actually.

Maybe he shouldn’t try to get you two together. You might breed the most unaware children ever to walk the Earth.

Lisa and Frank Jr. came flying through the room with their entourage. “See ya later, kid,” he said, going off to corral some kids of his own.

You sipped your soda and smiled at the children now being chased by a big, bad Marine and didn’t notice Billy slipping away from his own entourage. “Hey.”

“Oh, hey. Weren’t you just over there?” you asked, looking over at where the crowd had been moments ago.

“Keepin’ an eye on me, Y/N?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Ha!” you laughed in surprise. “You wish, Russo.”

“Can’t blame a guy for dreamin’, can ya?”

You rolled your eyes. “Whatever.”

“Gonna miss me a little?” he asked, trying to hide the hope that you would.

“Trivia night will be so empty without you,” you replied with a sassy wink.

Billy gave you a grin and said, “One night a week down, six to go.”

You laughed together for a moment and then you bumped your shoulder into his. “Be safe over there, OK? I don’t want to have to train a new card partner.”

Billy knew that was as good as it was going to get and was willing to settle for it – for the time being. “Well, maybe you can write to me and tell me what a clusterfuck trivia night is without me to carry you.”

“Oh, hell no you didn’t!” you exclaimed, turning to look at him, face full of pretend indignation.

“Truth hurts, Y/N. You won’t be able to win without me. Sad, really,” he said sympathetically but with a twinkle in his eye.

“I’m gonna write to you every week and tell you how awesome we do without you,” you announced, punctuating your pronouncement by sticking your tongue out at him.

“Well, if it means that much to you, maybe you should email me?”

“Yeah, instant gratification with the news of how awesome I am. Good idea,” you sassed him. “Better give me your email address.”

“I will.”

There was a moment of silence while you looked at each other, and then when it started to feel awkward you said, “Well, I’m going to head home. For real, be safe, Billy,” you said softly.

“I will. Walk you to your car?” he asked, not ready to say goodbye.

“I walked over, so no,” you replied.

“Then I’ll walk you home.”

“Gonna protect my virtue?” you asked sarcastically.

“All the way to your front door.”

“But then,” you said, pausing dramatically with your hands in pearl-clutching position, “you’ll be alone! Who will protect your virtue?”

He shouted a laugh that made you smile. “I think I’ll be OK, sweetheart.”

“And so will I. Stay here at your party. I’m getting enough dirty looks just for monopolizing you this long. God knows what they’ll do if I keep you that long.”

“Fuck ‘em,” he said, taking your drink and his to set them down.

“Yeah, I kinda think that’s their general plan.”

Billy gave you a taste of your own medicine and rolled his eyes at you.

You shrugged and headed over to Frank, stepping into a hug. “Be careful over there, Frank. Gonna miss you so much!”

“Hey, don’t you worry about me. I am always alright. Besides, got my man Bill here to watch my six.”

“Yeah, and Frankie boy watches mine. We got this,” Billy reassured you, cocky as hell.

“Well, just keep in touch and hurry home,” you said with one last squeeze. “You’re like the terrifying big brother I never had.”

“Yeah, and you’re like the baby sister I wrote to Santa for all those years ago,” he said, dropping a kiss on your head and shooting Billy a look to tell him he noticed the jealousy on his face. “You take care of yourself, yeah?”

“Yeah, I will,” you said softly. “Well, this big moose is insisting on walking me home.”

“Moose? If anything, I’m a stud.”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly.

“One of these days your eyes are gonna stick like that, Y/N, then you’ll be sorry coz no man will want a sarcastic, cross-eyed girl,” Billy informed you.

“What are you, my father?” you snarked back as the two of you headed to the front door.

“You tryin’ to tell me you wanna call me Daddy?” he said in his pervy voice.

“Ew,” was your only response, and the only one needed for Billy to know he won that round of bickering.

You walked slowly to your house, the cold night air frosting your breath. You mimed smoking a cigarette and blew fake smoke. “Do I look sophisticated?” you asked.

“You look twelve,” he deadpanned.

“Fine. I will not be comping you tickets when my one woman show goes to Broadway.”

“Just gonna make me buy a ticket with that other poor sap?”

“What other poor sap?” you asked curiously.

“Surely you can drum up one other person to come to your show!”

“Man, sometimes I think, 'that Billy is a decent dude. Why’d I hate him all those years?’”

“Uh huh,” he said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“And then there’s nights like tonight,” you came back with the zinger.

“Oh! She went there on the night I leave to serve my country, ladies and gentlemen! Such an Ice Queen,” he announced dramatically.

“Heh. You’re not wrong there,” you said.

“How come?” he asked.

“How come what?”

“I’ve never seen you date anyone,” he said as you climbed your front porch and pulled out your keys. “You’ve still never let me inside your house.”

Your mind began to race and you  wondered if Billy had ulterior motives for walking you home. When you turned around you had a genuinely cold expression. “What, since I don’t drag you inside and fuck you there must be something wrong with me? Maybe I’m just gay, didn’t that ever occur to you?” you said as you stepped closer to him combatively. Seeing the look on his face, you said, “Oh, it did occur to you! If I can resist the great Billy Russo I must be a lesbian, huh?”

“No, of course not!” he said hotly. “I mean just for a minute in the pool that day.”

“Right,” you snarled, then deflated. “I don’t want you to leave with anger between us. Be safe, Billy.”

He sighed heavily. “Yeah. Yeah, see ya when I get back,” he said sadly, turning to go down the steps to walk back to Frank & Maria’s.

You started to go inside and couldn’t. “Bill?”

“What?” he said, stopping but not turning.

“C'mere,” you said, stepping inside your house.

“Why?”

“Ugh because I said so! Get your ass in here, Marine!”

“Yes, ma'am,” he replied with a smile.

You opened the screen door and Billy stepped in, looking around to take in your home.

It was an older house, a lot like the Castle’s place. The walls were painted an ice blue and you had a blend of more modern, comfortable furniture together with the odd antique table or lace doily. The sofa was a cozy chocolate brown corduroy with some pillows tossed on it and a blanket folded over one arm. A comfy matching tiltback with another pillow and blanket on a bright rug framed the coffee table strewn with mail, a dirty mug and a soda can or two. And next to the edge was a gift bag with bright paper poofing out artfully.

You pulled off your jacket and draped it on the coat rack said, “Have a seat.”

Billy had been hovering by the front door. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, here, let me hang up your jacket.”

He took off his black leather coat that emphasized his broad shoulders and lean waist and you put it next to yours on the rack, a hint of his cologne teasing your nose.

You had noticed that sort of thing more lately.

You sat down on the sofa and he took the chair, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” you began.

“It’s OK. I shouldn’t have ambushed you. I was just curious.”

“It’s OK, I suppose it’s a natural question. I haven’t dated anyone for a long time. I’m not gay, I just…haven’t. OK?”

You could see that he wanted to ask more questions, but he could see that you weren’t comfortable with it and decided to wait. Or ask Frank. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Sure. And now,” you said quietly, “I invited you in to give you this.” You reached over and handed him the gift.

“For me?” he said, surprise written clearly on his face.

“Yeah. It’s no big deal, I just kind of chickened out at the idea of giving it to you in front of the crowd.”

Billy smiled and dug in to his gift, pulling out a Kindle e-reader. “What? Thank you!”

“I know you’ve said you read a lot on deployment so I thought this would be good because it’s compact and you can get literally thousands of books on it.”

“This is great, Y/N! I love it, thanks!”

“I’m glad,” you said, relieved.

“Is it hard to set up?”

“I did it for you, hope it’s OK. I started you a new Gmail account for it, the info and passwords are in there, you can change it right away. But I didn’t want you to have to fiddle with it.”

“No, that’s great,” he said, turning it on and flipping through it.

“I downloaded a bunch of classics and some of my favorites and some that I knew you liked, you have a one year subscription to their library and I got you a regular library card because you can do digital loans, too.”

“Wow. You thought of everything. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. I put a Euchre app on there, too. Keep your skills sharp. All of the stuff that’s on there already works without internet, so keep it charged and you’re good to go.”

“This must have taken a while,” he said, a bit of amazement showing through his cool exterior.

“Well, I'm…gonna miss you,” you said hesitantly. “I wanted to do something for you since we’re like friends now.”

Billy chuckled. “Like friends?”

“You’re my friend, Russo,” you said with a smile. “I hope I’m yours.”

Billy smiled at the way you meant it versus the way he wished you meant it. “I think you’re one of my closest friends, Y/N. These months at home…I’m really glad we got to know each other.”

“Me, too,” you said with a genuine smile.

“How about you show me how to use this?” he said, holding up the Kindle.

“I mean… it’s your going away party. Don’t you kinda need to go back? Seemed like you were holding court with your admirers.”

“Nah. I’d rather hang out with you if that’s OK.”

“Sure,” you said quietly, then scooted over so he could join you on the sofa.

He hopped over and turned the Kindle on and you had your heads together for hours, showing him how to use your gift.

You even gave him a brief hug when he left, promising to email him after trivia night.


	4. Chapter 4

Of course, you didn’t win as much with Billy deployed, which thrilled him to his toes. He had the kind of brain that filled in the blanks in your knowledge. Playing without him wasn’t as much fun, either. You actually blew it off as often as you went after a while.

You still emailed him, though, sometimes more than the agreed-upon once a week. You weren’t sure how, but Billy had gone from Public Enemy #1 to a pretty close friend.

Unbeknownst to you, Maria and Frank had talked about it on a few occasions. She was not too keen on her best friend becoming a notch on Billy’s bedpost. Frank was pretty sure that Billy actually cared about you.

But really, Maria knew that you were too damaged to let anyone in without one helluva fight, and neither thought Billy was whole enough to stick around long enough to try.

* * *

You were trying to decide between a cute sundress or shorts and a t-shirt to wear to the airport. You were going along to pick the guys up. Billy and Frank were getting in today and Billy had asked you if you were coming with Maria to pick him up. You had hesitated a bit, but you knew he felt like a fifth wheel at their family reunion. They told him not to be silly, that he was family, but he still asked you to come so he wouldn’t be the only non-Castle.

Fifteen months was a long time, but your life hadn’t changed. You spent all your spare time with Maria and the kids or with your parents. The main difference during this deployment was your growing friendship with Billy. It was somehow more comfortable with thousands of miles between you. You wondered how his return would change that.

You also wondered whether he had a hard time transitioning to being stateside. Maria had mentioned that Frank could be a different guy when he got home, so you weren’t sure what to expect when Bill got here. But let’s face it, he probably had some old ‘acquaintances’ he would need to get in touch with. You doubted he’d want to spend much time with you.

You shrugged and chose the dress. You’d probably go out to eat on the way home and you hated it when your legs stuck to the chairs.

* * *

You drove separately since there wouldn’t be room for everyone. Maria was surprised since you had never gone along to pick Frank up before. You could tell that something was bothering her, but when you asked she simply said that she was excited to see Frank.

You had helped the kids make a huge sign that said, “WELCOME HOME DADDY!!!” so you made a small sign that said, “Welcome Home, Billy!” You felt kind of silly, but it was his homecoming, too. You felt especially stupid when Maria saw it and just raised her eyebrows.

When the plane landed and you were waiting outside the security area, you dropped back behind Maria, feeling really self-conscious. What were you doing there? You and Billy were barely friends! The airport after deployment was for family or girlfriends, not….pen pals!

You heard the kids start screaming as they unfurled their banner, and then Frank swooped in on his family, all smiles and hugs and tears. You looked behind him and saw Billy looking around until you stepped out and he saw you. Your heart stopped for a moment when he smiled, just for you. You smiled back and held up the little sign you made for him and he smiled even wider, then came over and pulled you into a hug.

“Missed ya, Y/N,” he whispered.

“You, too, Bill,” you said, crushed against his chest.

Billy wanted to kiss you, wanted it so much. God it sucked to want someone who didn’t want him back. “Thank you.”

You leaned back and smiled. “I thought you deserved a sign, too.”

“Nobody’s ever come to the airport for me before,” he said, not quite meeting your eyes.

“Well, it’s about time someone did then, huh?” you answered quietly, then smiled mischievously. “I can’t believe none of your fangirls come to the airport and throw panties.”

He rolled his eyes at you, grateful for the joke to break the tension.

“Uncle Billy!”

Maria and the kids swarmed Billy, so you trades places and hugged Frank.

“Always nice to see you at the airport, kid,” he said with a wink.

“I haven’t been invited before,” you defended yourself. You hadn’t considered others misconstruing your actions, you had been too busy trying to figure it out for yourself. Were they even misconstruing?

“Uh huh,” he said, slinging an arm over your shoulders and walking over to where the kids were asking Billy why he wasn’t going to ride home with them. “I’m glad you’re here, kid. Whatever the reason.”

“Uncle Billy, are you and Aunt Y/N boyfriend and girlfriend?” Lisa asked.

You tensed up.

“Nah, Lisa, Aunt Y/N has too good of taste to date a guy like me,” he said, mussing her hair.

“She’s here,” Frank Jr. said. “She’s never come before.”

“Well, we never asked her. Uncle Billy was smart enough to ask,” Frank chimed in, giving you a one-armed squeeze before he took off to pick up both kids and pretend to drop them. Then he played pass the kid back and forth with Billy.

“They’re not wrong,” Maria said, dropping into step next to you. “You never wanted to come before.”

“Maria, you know I didn’t come because I didn’t want to see Billy.”

“Yeah, and now you’re here because he asked.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re taking him home.”

“Yes.”

“But you’re just friends.”

“Maria!”

“C'mon, Y/N, you know Billy doesn’t do female friends that he doesn’t wanna screw,” she said derisively. “I love him, but don’t be stupid.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” you said, because really, who were you kidding? Like you would be the exception to the Russo Rule. “I’ll just take him home and back off, OK?”

“I just…I love you both. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“Got it,” you said with a smile. “He doesn’t do female friends, check.”

Just then, Billy looked over his shoulder at you and smiled happily, still stoked that you had come to the airport for him. You smiled back stiffly and his smile turned questioning. You dropped your eyes and kept walking, looking at Maria to break the eye contact.

“So where we eating?” you asked, then stuck close to her side until you got to the luggage pick up and waited for the guys’ bags.

There were more than a few people who thanked Frank and Billy for their service, which they accepted humbly, and a few Semper Fis from retired Jarheads that they returned with an ‘Oorah’ or ‘Semper Fi.’

Once their luggage came around, you agreed where you were going to eat and went to your car.

“Thanks for coming, Y/N. And for the sign, that was really nice. Gonna keep it.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal, right? What are friends for? It’s good to have my trivia buddy back,” you said, keeping a good cushion of space between you as you walked.

“Yeah, OK,” he said, a little hurt. It was kind of a big deal to him. He had never had anyone that he wanted to come to the airport for him before. “Just good to be home.”

You peeked over at his profile and he looked kinda sad. “I should have bought a package of panties to throw at you, huh?” you tried to joke.

“I was just…happy not to have to co-opt Frankie’s welcoming committee.”

You stopped walking and Billy stopped a second later and came back to you. You slipped your arms around his waist and said, “Welcome home, Billy. I missed you.”

You felt Billy hug you again, this time a little closer and longer, knowing that you didn’t have an audience and that you initiated the embrace. He surreptitiously sniffed your hair and cataloged that in his Y/N mental file. He really wanted to kiss you.

When you pulled apart and started walking to the car again, he said, “So, what happened between hugs?”

You glanced up at him. “Maria said that Billy Russo doesn’t have female friends.”

“Ah,” he said with a nod. “Did Maria maybe tell you about the time she threatened to neuter me if I hit on you?”

“No way!” you exclaimed, then giggled.

“Oh, does the idea of me singing a couple octaves higher make you giggle?” he said with a chuckle.

“Maria is…protective…of me.”

“Maria could make a goddamn Pitt Bull piss itself in terror. She was holding a knife, Y/N,” he said for effect, happy that you were laughing. “Tell ya what, Frank ain’t the scariest one in that family.”

“That is the truth, my friend.”

“Am I?” he asked quietly.

“My friend? Yeah, you are.”

“Awesome. This is gonna look fantastic on my resume. What do you call it when you’re friends with a chick you aren’t having sex with? Plutonium? Plutocratic?” he said with a straight face.

“I think plutonic. Like the dog from the Mickey Mouse cartoons. Coz Mickey didn’t screw his dog, right?”

“Well, y'know why Mickey and Minnie broke up, right?” he said very seriously.

“I hadn’t heard!” you played along.

“Yeah, he said something about her having mental health challenges,” he said sadly, as if discussing a close friend.

“Oh no, what kind of problems?” you said, giving him the opening for his punch line. “Like is she goddamn crazy?”

“No, she’s fuckin’ Goofy!” he said as if it was the freshest joke ever told.

And you laughed like it was hilarious, because it was. Billy was fun and you were happy to see him. “I’m glad you’re home safe,” you said softly as you reached your car and popped the trunk.

“I’m glad to be here,” he replied.

Fuck, he wanted to kiss you.


	5. Chapter 5

You joined the Castles for dinner, sitting next to Billy and evading Maria’s looks. He laid his arm across the back of your chair a few times, not touching you but not really avoiding your space. And you didn’t mind, which was really strange. Usually if any male older than Frank Jr. and not related by blood got at least a flinch if you weren’t expecting a move in your direction.

You excused yourself to go to the restroom while Maria wasn’t looking and handed your credit card to your server to pay for the meal and gave her directions to deliver the bill to you, thanking her for the extra trouble with a $20.

When the bill arrived and Frank and Billy both reached for their wallets, you casually signed it with a nice tip and a thank you.

“Sneaky little shit,” Billy leaned over and whispered in your ear. “Next time is on me.”

You smiled at him and then saw Maria giving you a Mom face and you looked down, simply replying, “Sure thing.”

He looked over at Maria and straightened up, which Frank thought was hilarious.

“I brought your keys, Bill. Heading to get your car and then staying on base?” Maria asked.

“Thanks. Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“That’s how you prefer it so you don’t have to entertain at your place, right? You can slip out without drama?” she asked.

“Maria,” you said with a shark smile. “He gets it. We get it.”

“They get it,” Frank backed you up.

“Great!” she said, still staring Billy down.

“Well, we should get these kids home, right, Maria?” Frank’s asked tactfully. “Y/N, thank you for dinner. I hope to see you soon. Bill, better see you too, brother.”

“You know it, Frankie.”

“Bye, sweetie,” Maria said as she hugged Billy and kissed his cheek.

* * *

“So my car’s in a storage unit not far from the base,” Billy said after the Castles drove off. “Got one more trip in ya?”

“Of course!”

“Great, thanks.”

“You wanna drive, though? I don’t know that area all that well.”

“Sure,” he said, opening the passenger door for you.

“You open doors for Frank?” you asked suspiciously.

“I’m figuring this out as I go. Just because I’m not trying to get you into bed doesn’t mean I’m not going to treat you like a lady.”

“Fair enough,” you smirked.

After you had gotten moving, you asked Billy what his plans were. “Gonna be making some fangirls happy?”

“Yeah, I know we’re doing this whole friend thing, but I dunno if I wanna discuss my sex life with you.”

“Oh, sorry,” you muttered. “Trying to figure us out.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

“So, you gonna go back to trivia night?”

“You going?”

“Yeah,” you said with a smile.

“Then I will be there. Can’t let you down.”

“Bill?”

“Yeah?”

“You as big a dog as they say?” you ventured in a small voice.

He debated trying to game the issue, but you deserved honesty. “Yeah.”

“Good to know,” you said with a nod.

“Lotta guys are before they meet the right girl, y'know? Especially military.”

“I guess. Was Frank?”

“With that nose? Maria must be his soulmate to love that face,” he joked. “He was lucky to get drunk girls to dance.”

“You believe in soulmates??” you asked incredulously.

“Nah, not really. I just read a lot. Couple of those books you put on my Kindle had soulmate stuff.”

“Did you like them?” you asked with a smile.

“Some of it was a little more mushy than I usually read,” he hedged, watching the road.

“Why William Russo, you’re a romantic!” you accused.

“I am a United States Marine. I do not do romantic,” he denied.

“OK, if you say so.”

“I say so,” he stated firmly.

“You say so, I get it.”

He looked over at your smirk.

“You’re completely unromantic. Cold, dead heart. No feeling above the waist, I get it!”

“I mean, I got feelings above the waist. That’s not a not a fair statement, Y/N,” he said, sounding a bit frazzled.

“OK you’re an unromantic man with tender feelings above the waist. For like…pizza?” you teased.

“For you!” he blurted.

“Oh,” you said quietly.

“And Frank. And y'know Maria. And the kids,” he mumbled.

“Oh!” you exclaimed. “But unromantic tender feelings.”

“Of course, they’re my family,” he said, looking at you like you were a monster. “Why would you suggest that I had romantic feelings for them?”

“I didn’t!”

“You got issues,” he said, turning to wink at you.

“Jerk,” you said with a laugh.

“That I am, darlin, that I am.”

“But you have tender feelings for me,” you said, sticking out your tongue when he looked over.

“That I do, darlin, that I do.”

* * *

You dropped him off at his storage unit and gave him another hug as you moved around to the drivers seat and then waited to see if his car would start. He said you didn’t need to but hey, fifteen months was a long time in car life.

It started up and you put your car in gear, but he hopped out and came over to your car.

You rolled down your window.

“Hey, I left my sign in the back seat,” he said with a smile.

“You really wanna keep it?” you said with a laugh, looking back to see the sign and reaching back to grab it.

You didn’t see Billy looking at you while you stretched, your breasts thrust up and your dress hiked up your thighs as you tried to reach with your foot on the brake. “Here ya go,” you said, handing it to him.

“Thanks again,” he said with a sweet smile. “Probably seems silly to you but it meant a lot to me.”

“I’m glad you like it so much.”

“You’re spoiling me, Y/N.”

“Ha right, Bill,” you answered, a little embarrassed.

“No, I mean it. I appreciate it.”

“Well, good. Hey, see ya soon?”

“Yeah. Maybe I could give you a call and we can grab dinner sometime. Pay ya back for today.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

“Need your number, sweetheart,” he said with a charming smile.

“Oh yeah! I guess you’ve never called me. Want me to email it?”

He nodded. “I’ll check later. Bye, Y/N,” he said softly.

“Bye, Bill,” you said with a smile.

Fuck he wanted to kiss you.

* * *

You drove home with a smile on your face. When you went inside you went to your computer and emailed Billy your phone numbers.

You said you would. You were friends. That was all.

* * *

Billy got to the base and reported in, stowed his gear and grabbed a shower. It had been a long day, but he couldn’t remember being this happy to be home in a long time.

He was coming around to the idea of quality over quantity; well, at least where you were concerned.

Maria was gonna be a problem, though. He’d need to talk to Frank and maybe even Maria about it one of these days, because he was pretty sure he was gonna have to renegotiate that deal not to hit on you.


	6. Chapter 6

You had to work for the next couple days. Billy called you the next evening and you talked for a few minutes. He had been running errands and getting his phone turned on.

You had offered to keep Lisa and Frank Jr. overnight for the Castles on Friday so they could have a date night, so Billy suggested he come over and help with the kids. How could you say no?

Billy was there when Frank and Maria dropped the kids off and Maria was not impressed. She shot you and Billy looks that said you were getting a lecture; Billy might be getting non-elective surgery.

You ordered pizzas and played games, then made popcorn while the kids put on their pajamas and let them pick a movie to watch. Frankie fell asleep first, then Lisa. Billy carried Lisa and you carried Frank, putting them to bed in the twin beds in the room you had set up for them.

You came down and plopped down on the sofa together.

“Little Frankie isn’t so little anymore,” you said with a chuckle. “I won’t be able to carry him upstairs much longer.”

“I’ll carry them both next time,” Billy said naturally, leaning forward to grab a piece of cold pizza.

“Want me to heat that up for you?”

“Nah,” he said with his mouth full. “Cold pizza is a whole food group.”

“Wanna watch something?” you asked. “Or do you have plans?”

“I do have plans. With you.”

“Oh, cool. So?”

“Yeah, let’s see what’s on.”

You handed him the remote as if it were a great privilege. “I don’t let just anyone hold the remote. Just so you know,” you joked.

“I am truly honored,” he said as if accepting an award.

He started flipping channels, stopping occasionally before moving on.

“Shit, look at that,” he said when he stopped on a show about cars. “I’m gonna have a car like that someday.”

“What is it?” you asked.

“It’s a Wraith,” he said.

“Is that good?” you asked, completely ignorant.

“Is it good? It’s a Rolls Royce,” he said, disbelief in his voice.

You shrugged. “I don’t care about cars. As long as the brakes, heating and air conditioning and the radio work, that’s all I care about.”

He looked disgusted and shocked and amazed, all at once. “I…I…” he sputtered.

“I’m not into cars, Bill, sorry,” you said defensively.

“It’s not just a car, Y/N! It’s like a precision instrument, art on wheels.”

“Why would I want to drive art? I’d just worry about potholes,” you said, picking at popcorn.

“It’s a symbol.”

“Of what?”

“Success.”

You shrugged.

“What, you wouldn’t wanna go out with a guy who drove a car like that?” he asked, laughing incredulously.

“I mean…not because of the car? And really…I dunno. I don’t see the point.”

“The point is everyone would see how far I’ve come,” he said.

“I like you now,” you said simply.

“You don’t care about fancy cars or houses or stuff?”

“I guess not. I grew up in a house pretty much like this. My parents still live there. And I’ll probably drive this car until I have to ride the engine bareback because I just don’t want to deal with buying another one.”

“I’ve barely put five thousand miles on my car and was thinking about trading,” he said with a laugh.

“Boys and their toys,” you said with an eyeroll.

“Better watch that eyeroll. They’ll stick that way and –”

“Yeah, yeah, and no man will want a cross-eyed sarcastic girl. I remember,” you said, sticking out your tongue.

“Nice to know you hang on my every word,” he said smugly.

“What can I say? I’m the president of your fan club,” you said with a wink.

* * *

 

You wound up watching TV with Billy for a couple hours, catching a movie he had been wanting to see. He moved over next to you so you could share the popcorn, but he didn’t try to do so much as hold your hand.

When the movie was over he helped you carry dirty dishes and trash to the kitchen. He yawned a few times and said, “I better get going.”

“You wanna stay?” you asked without thinking.

“Huh?” he said in surprise.

“I have another guest room!” you added quickly.

“Oh! Yeah, actually, that would be great,” he said with that smile of his that you decided was like sunshine.

“You should bottle that smile, Russo. You’d make a million bucks,” you said, smiling back.

“Thank you, Y/N! I – thanks. I’ll take the garbage out,” he said, blushing a little.

“It’s out back by the steps. Thanks,” you said, putting the rest of the pizza in a bag in the fridge.

He returned and said, “I have a gym bag in my trunk, gonna grab that so I don’t run around in my skivvies and scar the kids.”

“OK,” you chuckled. “I’ll go get some fresh sheets for your bed and change it. Can you lock up and arm the alarm?”

“Sure.”

“Great, I’ll be upstairs. Do you like firm or squishy?”

“I like ‘em all, sweetheart. I’m sure whatever you have is perfect,” he said with a wink.

You flicked his nose. “No! Bad hound dog! I meant pillows.” You were both laughing.

“Ow! Fine, in that case I like them firm. You’re so strict.”

“Yeah don’t make me spank you!” you giggled.

“It’s not nice to tease!” he called over his shoulder as he walked out to his car.

“Hey, do you wanna park in the garage? Get your car off the street?”

“Oh cool, please.”

You pointed for him to pull in the drive and around the house to the detached garage. You locked up the front and went to the back porch and and opened the garage door for him to pull in. He got out and checked to see if he pulled in far enough and gave you a thumbs up, then walked up the deck to the back door.

“You have a really nice house, Y/N. Thanks for welcoming me into it.”

“Of course,” you said, bumping his shoulder with yours. “It’s nice to have a friend.”

You headed up the stairs, Billy practically drooling over your ass in front of him. He was not only interested in your body but goddamn he wanted to make you his. And this wouldn’t be a one and done. He was going to do this right and build something with you.

Billy had never really imagined his future as including any one woman. He had always played the field and never let himself be tied down before. He had been meticulous with birth control and never had a pregnancy scare; had never taken a girl’s word for it and gone bareback. He was tested for STIs regularly and had never been positive.

He had his life all planned out and there had never been a role for a woman before. But, maybe he didn’t have to be alone forever? Frank was always preaching quality over quantity – maybe there was something to be said for finding that one person.

Maybe he did believe in soulmates after all, because something about you made him feel mighty damned romantic.

* * *

 

You made the bed together, quietly explaining that if he needed a toothbrush you had a spare in the drawer, Advil and stuff like that in the medicine cabinet, but so was female stuff if that bugged him.

“Nah,” he said, slipping a pillow into a case.

“Really? Some of my friends dated guys that couldn’t even talk about female cycle stuff.”

“Sounds like they were dating little boys. You need anything from the store, I’ll go. Hell, I’ll give you a back rub if you get cramps, do whatever you need.”

“Wait…you’re a hound dog. When has this come up?” you asked, expression skeptical.

He shrugged. “Mostly on runs with Frank for Maria, but it won’t bother me.”

“Sounds like you want to settle down?”

“Been giving it some thought, yeah. Kinda want what Frankie has. He keeps lecturing me on the virtues of quality over quantity.”

“They have something special,” you said as you floated the blanket onto the mattress before you tucked it in, then laid the pillows at the headboard. “Need anything else, sweetie?”

“Cuddle buddy?” he said while wiggling his eyebrows and grinning.

“Oh, yeah of course. Frankie snores and Lisa kicks. Want one of them or would you like to borrow a teddy bear?” you asked while batting your eyelashes.

Billy looked sad and said, “Heart. Broken.”

“Maybe next sleep over,” you said sarcastically. “Night, Bill. This was fun.”

“Yeah. Maybe we should try it without the ankle biters sometime.”

“Sounds good. Night.”

“Night, Y/N. Sweet dreams.”

“You, too. Oh! I sometimes do actually have nightmares, but I usually can calm myself down pretty well. Normally doesn’t happen with the kids here, but if it should happen and the kids get scared, can you comfort them?”

“Them and not you?” he said with a wrinkled brow.

“Yeah, ah…I might not be happy to see you.”

“Me?” he asked in surprise.

“No, Bill,” you soothed him. “Not you specifically. A man. Long story.”

“OK,” he said with a smile when you seemed to be a little stressed about the topic. “G'night.”

“Night!”


	7. Chapter 7

You laid awake for a while thinking about your evening. Billy was so great with the kids, and so easy to hang out with. You hadn’t had that since…well. A long time. And honestly, you hadn’t had it then, either. You just didn’t know any better.

You fell asleep, worried that you would have nightmares since you thought about him, but you slept soundly until the kids jumped on you in the morning. Then you shamelessly threw Billy under the bus and told them he was here and needed a wake-up call too.

You followed the kids across the hall and watched from the doorway as they jumped on Billy, who promptly began growling like a monster and tickling them. You smiled in the doorway watching them play.

Billy looked up and saw you smiling and just wow, this was what he wanted. He was so crazy about you, he didn’t even want to make any booty calls after fifteen months in the desert, and his opportunities for sex there had been pretty much limited to his right hand.

“Morning, Billy,” you said with a mischievous gleam in your eye. “How’d you sleep?”

“Better than I woke up,” he said before Frankie dove on his gut and kneed him in the groin.

“OK guys, you’ve done enough damage! Go wash up for breakfast while I see if you carried out your Mom’s threat to Uncle Billy.”

The kids scampered off with a chorus of “OK” and “Sorry Uncle Billy!”

You went over and sat on the edge of his bed and stroked his arm while he got his breathing under control. “Need an ice pack? I’m sorry I threw you under the bus.”

“Their mother will be proud of them. I think the Russo name ends here.”

“Sweetie, are you really hurt?” you asked with concern.

“Nah, not the first time my boys have taken a hit.”

“Anything I can do?”

“I’ve heard kisses make ouchies feel better…” he said with a naughty grin.

“You want me to kiss your junk?” you said with a look. You know. A look.

“I don’t not want that,” he said with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes, assuming he was joking again. “Pervy Billy has arrived. C'mon, limp downstairs and I’ll make us breakfast.”

“Be down in a minute,” he said with a chuckle.

Billy was in a good mood. He had hinted to you that he wanted to date you and you hadn’t run away screaming. You were skittish and there was something from your past he needed to know about, true; but Billy felt more confident than ever that he had a chance with you.

* * *

 

He arrived downstairs to find the kids watching TV. “Where’s Y/N?”

They pointed to the kitchen without taking their eyes from the TV.

He went to the kitchen through the dining room and found you humming while you got eggs and sausage ready to cook and mixed up pancake batter. There was like a glow about you. He knew he was being sappy and probably would laugh at another dude who was as far gone on a girl as he was on you, but you were different. More.

And you made him want to be more.

“Can I help?”

He frowned as you jumped a bit and laughed it off. He wished he knew why you did that. And who he needed to kill.

“Sure, how are you at making pancakes?”

“I am a master pancake chef,” he said confidently.

“And so humble!”

He held his hands out to his sides as he had that day on your porch. “When you’re this great…”

“Yeah, yeah. Get busy, Superman.”

* * *

 

You were all sitting down eating pancakes and eggs and sausage when Frank and Maria arrived to pick up the kids.

“Hey, guys! Are you hungry?”

“Nah, we had breakfast,” Frank said.

Maria just stared at Billy.

“I jumped on Uncle Billy’s nuts but it was a accident,” Frank Jr. announced.

“So Uncle Billy slept over, too?”

“Yes, Maria, he slept in the other guest room. I have three bedrooms, as you well know,” you said sarcastically. “Coffee?”

“Sure. Let me help,” Maria said as she followed you back into the kitchen.

As soon as the door swung shut behind her, she hissed, “Why is he still here?”

“We watched another movie after the kids went to bed and he was tired so I offered him the other bedroom.”

“Y/N, you know how he is –” she began.

“I know how you keep telling me he is, but Maria, we’re friends. He’s my friend and he adores your kids. Why wouldn’t you want me to have a friend I can trust?”

She sighed. “Because I see you falling for him.”

“What? No, I’m not! We’re friends.”

* * *

 

“Finally listening to me, huh brother?” Frank said with a superior grin.

“Yeah, definite quality,” Billy said with a smile.

“What’s quality, Uncle Billy?” Lisa asked.

“It’s like getting one good one instead of a bunch of cheap ones,” he answered.

“And he should hold onto the quality,” Frank added.

“Oh,” Lisa said, eyes big.

You and Maria returned with coffee and you all chatted, you and Frank keeping the conversation flowing. When the kids finished their breakfast, Maria took them upstairs to get their stuff together and get dressed.

“So, what are you two up to today?” Frank asked.

“I dunno. Billy, are we up to anything?” you sent the question along to him.

“I’m free if you want to do something,” he said casually.

“Cool. Anything you wanna do?”

“Actually, I could use some new clothes. Feel like shopping?”

“Oh, fun. Can I bring music and do a montage while you model outfits?” you asked, bouncing in your seat.

“If you do I’ll pretend I don’t know you,” he said pleasantly and with a smile.

You rubbed your hands together like a cartoon villain. “I love embarrassing people in public so much!”

“Maybe we should stay here…,”Billy said worriedly.

“Nope, you said clothes shopping. No takesies backsies!” you said as you got up to go change clothes. “Bye, Frank,” you said as you stood.

You hurried out of the room and then stopped and looked back. “Billy, what are your thoughts on bib overalls?”

“No! Don’t you dare!” he threatened. “How did this happen?”

“Fell in love, brother,” Frank said, patting Billy on the back. “Welcome to hell.”

“I hate you.”

“I know,” he said with a chuckle.


	8. Chapter 8

After you said goodbye to Maria and the kids, you started calling down little things to terrify Billy. “Now, I’m going to call you ‘Cousin Billy’ several times but then, I will call you ‘honey.’”

“Will you be offended if my cowboy boots don’t match? Each other?”

“Cousin Billy, I hope you like blue, because I am really embracing the blue eye shadow.”

“Can hair be too teased?”

He heard you coming down the stairs and prepared himself for some ridiculous costume but you just had on a cute floral dress with a little cardigan and sandals, hair and makeup tastefully done.

He stood up. “You look really pretty, Cousin Y/N,” he said with a grin.

“Must be a family trait, Cousin Billy, because you look incredibly handsome.”

He smiled and you kind of looked at each other like dopes for a moment before he said, “I’ll drive, OK?”

“Yup!” you agreed. “Can we stop at Victoria’s Secret?”

“Hell yeah!”

“Awesome. Been dying to see how you’d look in a bra and panties,” you said mischievously.

“You’re full of piss and vinegar today, aren’t you?” he said with a laugh.

“I’m having fun with you!”

“We’re still at home!”

“It’s still fun, Bill,” you said softly, a happy smile on your face.

“It is at that.”

* * *

 

“Is it supposed to be this loud?” you said loudly.

You were driving on the highway with the engine roaring and music blasting and wind whipping and you couldn’t stand it!

He grinned and rolled the windows up. “Sorry, sweetheart. I like to hear the engine.”

“Well, I wanna hear you,” you said, reaching for the radio and waiting for him to nod his OK before you turned it off.

“Not a great singer but I’ll do what I can,” he replied.

You playfully smacked his arm and he grabbed your hand and held on to it for a minute until he needed to shift gears to exit the highway.

You strolled into the mall companionably, next to each other but not touching. Billy wanted to hold hands or even walk with his arm around you, but he could be patient when he had to.

You walked through some shops for menswear and looked through the racks. You held up a few things and he either shook his head no or gave his maybe face.

“This would look good on you,” you said as you held up a royal blue dress shirt.

“Yeah?”

“I mean, anything does,” you said without thinking, placing the shirt in the pile for him to try on.

“That right?” he said smugly.

You realized what you said and looked down in embarrassment while Billy smiled widely.

“Gonna model this stuff for me?” you asked when you walked to the fitting room.

“Course. Can’t buy something you don’t like, now can I?”

“Why not?” you asked, oblivious.

“Can’t disappoint the president of my fan club, can I?” he said with a wink and a grin.

* * *

 

Billy took his clothes into the fitting room and you looked around near the fitting room to see if there was something he desperately needed to try on.

He appeared in the first outfit, the blue shirt you’d said he would look good in, with a pair of dark trousers.

“OK, turn,” you said, looking him over and then running your hands over his shoulders. “Well, we need to get a different cut in the shirt or you’ll have to get everything tailored. Your shoulders are broad and your chest is muscular, but your waist is a lot smaller. I’ll see if they have an Adonis cut.” You gave him a wink. “The trousers look alright. Let me see your butt. Not creeping. How do they feel?”

“I dunno, don’t you think you should check them like you did the shirt?” he said with a wicked smile.

“No, they’re all about comfort,” you said, missing the grin and therefore the pervy connotation of his question. Then you turned him around and ran your hands down the sides of his legs. “I think they’re a bit baggy in the butt. How does the waist feel?”

“Put your hands in and find out,” he said with a laugh.

You finally figured out that you were shopping with him like you would a child and it was amusing the hell out of him. “My hands won’t tell me if it feels good, pervert.”

He gave you that smirk that made you want to laugh your ass off and wash his mouth out with soap. “I promise, your hands in my pants would feel good,” he said quietly.

You smacked his butt and said, “Next outfit, smartass.”

He giggled, giggled as he went back to the fitting room.

He was gone a while, probably deciding things didn’t fit well enough to bother showing you. You went back to the rack where you had found the blue shirt to see if they had an athletic cut, pleased to see that they did. As you walked back with the shirt, two prepster douchebags stepped into your path.

“Well, hello,” d-bag number one said. “You look like you need some help finding what you’re looking for.”

“Ah, d’you work here?” you said skeptically.

“Yeah,” laughed d-bag number two. “Come with us to a fitting room and we’ll work you over good.”

“No thanks,” you said, turning to go around the rack they were using to block you.

D-bag number one zipped over to block you again. “What’s the rush, sweet thing?”

You turned to go the other way and found d-bag number two almost touching you behind you and your heart started pounding. “Leave me alone,” you said breathlessly.

“Oh, hear that? I think you like us. I think you wanna go to a fitting room with us,” he said, crowding you more.

“Y/N?” you heard Billy call.

“Billy!” you called, panicking.

He turned the corner and saw the two guys pressed against you and the fear on your face and he yelled, “Get the fuck away from her!” as he started to run over to you like an avenging fucking angel.

“We were just playin’, man,” one said while the other backed off.

“Go play somewhere else or I will fucking end you,” he barked as he pulled you into his arms.

They scampered off, recognizing the absolute desire in Billy’s eyes to gut them for touching you.

“Did they hurt you, sweetheart?” he growled.

“I’m OK,” you said, calm now that you felt his fury, safe in his arms with your cheek against his chest, heartbeat staccato in your ear.

“C'mon, you’re coming in with me,” he said, dragging you along behind him.

“Billy!” you whispered. “I can’t come in there with you!”

“Why not?”

“People will think we’re doing stuff,” you said, embarrassed.

“Babe, I promise, if I did 'stuff’ to you in a fitting room, we’d both be so loud there wouldn’t be any doubt about it.”

“Thanks for the reassurance,” you said drily. “I’ll just stay right here, OK? Here, at least I found a different cut in that shirt.”

He said, “Well, what do you think of this?”

You scrunched your nose.

He smiled and said, “As you wish, sweetheart.”

You smiled. “You can buy something I don’t like, Bill.”

“Why would I do that?” he said with a wink, then went back into the fitting rooms.

* * *

 

He wound up buying a bunch of new clothes, dress and casual both. Then he hit the shoe department. This man could shop.

You stopped for a drink and cooled off a bit.

“Now that I have new clothes I should probably take you out to dinner, huh?” he said, not quite meeting your eyes. He couldn’t believe it, but he was nervous!

“Are you kidding? You look like a model in those new clothes. I’d look like a server next to you,” you said with a laugh.

“Ha ha. So, busy Friday?”

“Yeah, I am. Family thing. And the cookout at Frank & Maria’s is Saturday. But we’ll see each other at trivia Wednesday, right?”

“Yeah. Well, if today is all I get, we’ll go out to dinner when we leave here. What sounds good?”

“Hmmmm,” you said, leaning your head back and making a pucker-face while you thought. “How about Mexican or Indian?”

“Whatever you want,” he said with a smile, hating himself for melting when you made your silly thinking face.

Fuck he wanted to kiss you.

* * *

 

You went for Mexican. Billy was starving and hadn’t had Indian before so you decided to have it another time when it wasn’t so crucial to feed him. You ordered a ton of food and he had a couple beers while you had a couple margaritas, which was a couple more than you usually had at all.

You started to feel a little buzz and looked at Billy with a silly grin. “You’re really sweet, Billy.”

He smiled, never having seen you tipsy. “Yeah? I think you are, too.”

He took a sip of beer and winked at you, which made you giggle and in turn made him chuckle. “No more margaritas for you, sweetheart.”

You pouted your lower lip out and said, “No fair. I’m having fun.”

“We can have fun without you having a hangover tomorrow and hating me,” he said responsibly.

You hiccuped. “I could never hate you. Again.” Then you snorted.

He laughed and slid your drink away from you, flagging your server down and ordering you a soda.

After you ate and drank some soda your buzz wore off. Ugh, you had told Billy he’s sweet. You were such a useless drinker! At least you didn’t tell him he was hot. He was arguably sweet and that was a neutral compliment.

“You got quiet,” he stated after a bit.

“Oh, ha,” you said weakly. “My buzz wore off and now I’m back to boring old me.”

“I don’t think you’re boring, Y/N,” he said softly.

“Thanks,” you said with a shy smile.

“Wanna split some dessert?” he asked.

You looked suspicious. “Share? Dessert? Dessert is not something I generally share.”

He gave you an adorable puppy-eyed pout and you melted. “Oh my God, did Frankie teach you that look?”

“Hell, no! I taught it to him,” he said with a wink.

“Bet that gets you laid every time,” you tried to joke, but it came out sounding awkward and weird, so you looked down.

“Hey,” he said, and you looked up. “Stop saying stuff like that. I’m here with you.”

“OK, yeah. Sorry.”

“S’OK. Dessert?”

“Sure.”


	9. Chapter 9

Billy had been casually strolling through the house and yard at Frank and Maria’s, stopping to chit chat here and there with friends he hadn’t seen since the going away party, but mainly looking for you. When he had made several circuits and knew he couldn’t have missed you, he dialed your house and then mobile, getting worried when you answered neither. He finally went over to where Frank was grilling to ask.

“Where’s Y/N?” Billy asked Frank quietly.

“Dunno, man,” Frank said, flipping a burger. “Did ya ask Maria?”

“No,” he replied sullenly. It was bad enough Frank knew about his infatuation with you, he didn’t need a lecture from Maria. “I called though. She hasn’t answered. I’m worried.”

It was Saturday, the day of the traditional homecoming gathering. You were supposed to be bringing your famous brownies and Billy was anxious to see you, even though you had seen each other at trivia Wednesday and talked on the phone last night. And you were always early.

“Maybe you should go check on her,” Frank told him, knowing that was what he wanted to hear.

“Yeah, I think I will,” he said, setting down his beer.

* * *

 

Billy hopped in his car and drive over to your house. He pulled up and took your patio in one hop, then tapped on the door. And waited. Then rapped again. Then rang the bell. And rang it again. Then went around back and peeked in the garage to see your car.

He went and pounded on the back door and waited a minute before he went back around front and rang the bell again. He was just debating calling the police when he heard a crackling from over the door. He looked up to see the light on the camera blinking. “Y/N? You OK? Do you need help, sweetheart?”

“Go away,” a voice rasped from the camera.

“Who is that? Y/N? Are you in there? I’m gonna call the cops!”

“Hang on,” the voice croaked.

A few moments later, he heard locks turning and chains sliding, and then the door opened.

“What happened to you?” Billy asked diplomatically when he took in your messy hair, red nose and the dark circles under your eyes.

“I feel like I got trampled by a plague-ridden horse who then spit in my mouth.”

“That’s vivid,” he said with a smile. “I was worried about you when you didn’t show up.”

“Maria knew,” you said, then began coughing.

“I tried to call you.”

“I was asleep.”

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Billy, I’m sick.”

“I see that. Lemme in.”

“OK, I don’t feel like fighting with you. You get the plague and it’s on you.”

“I’ll survive,” he said smugly.

You went and collapsed dramatically on the sofa. “Just leave me and let me die.”

Billy smiled and went over to feel your forehead. “You got a fever. Takin’ anything?”

“Um yeah I took some Advil earlier. Don’t really have anything else.”

“OK, well, I’m gonna make a drug store run. Want me to make you some tea before I go?”

You looked at him skeptically. “Tryin’ to play doctor with me, Russo?”

Billy barked a laugh and you smiled. “How ‘bout I take care of you now and we can talk about playing doctor when you feel better?”

“Nah, it’s your party day. You should be auditioning the lucky girl who gets to welcome you home personally,” you said, eyes closed so you missed the flinch.

“Well, how about you give me a raincheck for that, too?” he said, winking when you opened your eyes to give him a weak dirty look.

“I think they’d give you a different welcome than I would.”

He grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa and covered you when he saw you shiver, then stood up and smiled. “Even sick as a dog you’re still beautiful. Be back in a bit with supplies.”

You highly doubted his eyesight. “Take my keys and set the alarm. The code is 24559.”

“Wow. Thank you, Y/N,” he said sincerely.

You started to sit up, “Let me get you some money.”

“Nah, sit down, I got this. Back in a bit. Just rest.”

You felt too lousy to argue with him and drifted off to sleep before he even got off the porch.

Billy dialed Frank.

“Find her?”

“Yeah, she’s sick. Gonna get her a few things and go back over there. Spend the day with her.”

“Got some party guests here lookin’ for ya,” Frank said jovially.

“Tell 'em I got called away. She’s in bad shape, needs someone to look after her.”

“Maybe we should call her Ma or somethin’, huh?”

“Nah man, I got her.”

“Alright brother. Tell her we’ll check up on her later.”

“Yeah,” Billy said as he disconnected.

Maria was sitting next to Frank. “I can’t believe you’re encouraging this, Frank,” she said quietly. “He isn’t right for her.”

“You can’t protect her forever,” he said quietly. “It was an accident and it happened almost ten years ago.”

“I never told you?”

“Told me what?”

“That was no accident.”

* * *

 

“All right, my little patient,” Billy said as he came into your living room, laden with bags. “I have medicine, soup, tea, orange juice, vitamins and those red, white and blue popsicles you like.”

“Wow, thanks, Bill. But where’s the naughty nurse costume?” you asked with a smile, ruining the joke when you started coughing.

“Sweetheart, you can’t even breathe when you see me fully clothed,” you purred with a smirk. “I’d have to give you CPR if you saw me in anything sexy.”

You laughed until you started coughing.

“See? Now I am going to go heat up this soup and make you some tea. Need anything else?” he asked as he headed to the kitchen at the back of the house.

“I was going to ask for the real Billy Russo back but if you’re an alien I quite like you instead.”

“Ha ha.”

* * *

 

“Here you are, my dear, Jewish Penicillin straight from the good deli and hot tea with honey.” Billy sat a tray on the coffee table in front of you with the soup, tea and a small bouquet of flowers.

“Billy, this is so sweet of you,” you said sincerely. “Maybe this will finally warm me up.”

“Well, I have medicine for you to take after you have some soup,” he said as he sat down in the recliner.

“Is this how your Mom took care of you when you were little?” you asked as you took a sip of soup.

Billy’s smile ran away from his face. “Nah. I was in the foster system. I guess I just did for you what I wish someone would have done for me,” he said with a smirk.

“I didn’t know that, Bill. I’m sorry I said something so stupid.”

“It’s OK, you didn’t know. Kinda glad you do now, though.”

You shivered and groaned. “I think I’ll have some more soup later,” you said, cocooning yourself into the blanket. “Ugh, I can’t get warm.”

Billy kicked off his shoes and came over to the sofa and sat down next to you, then stretched out on the sofa and pulled you against him.

“Wait, what’re you ohhhhhh my God you’re so warm,” you moaned, luxuriating in his body heat pressed to your back.

“Great, you finally admit I’m hot and it’s because you have a fever,” he joked, wrapping his arms around you.

You turned in his arms so your front the was against his warmth and said, “Oh my God Russo, I wanna crawl inside your clothes.”

Billy actually had to concentrate on not getting a hard-on when you slid your hands inside his shirt, then scrambled so you were pressed between Billy and the back of the sofa and moaned happily.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

“Any time you want to use my body, just let me know,” he said with a chuckle.

“Mmm don’t even care if you’re being pervy, you are my hero.”

“I’m glad,” he said, holding you close and stroking your hair.

“So, tell me about Billy. How did you wind up in foster care?”

Billy was happy that you were showing interest but really didn’t like talking about this part of his life.

“Sorry,” you whispered when you felt him tense. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

“No,” he whispered. “It’s OK. My mother safe-havened me in Albany, I guess I was two or three.”

“Oh, Bill,” you said against his chest.

“See, that’s why I didn’t tell you before. Now you feel sorry for me.”

You tipped your head back and looked him in the eye. “No, I feel sorry for that baby. There’s absolutely nothing pitiful about you, Billy. You are strong and smart and you’ve made something of yourself. You should be proud of all that you’ve accomplished.”

Billy swallowed hard, a little choked up that you thought that about him. He impulsively decided to share his dream. “I want more.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I want to start my own business when I get out.”

“I thought you were career?” you said, surprised.

“No, I’ve got plans. I’m gonna start a private security company, really use what the Corps has taught me. I’ll hire vets who get out and want to use what they learned in the military.”

“That’s great, Billy. How can I help?” you asked enthusiastically.

“You wanna help?” he said, surprised.

“Yeah, of course. I dunno what I can do, but if you think of anything, let me know.”

“Right now I’m just trying to make contacts, make an impression on higher-ups for when I get out of the Corps.”

“You can’t make anything but a good impression, sweetie. Also, warm,” you said, eyes heavy.

“You could go to the Corps Birthday Ball with me?” he asked quietly.

“Ohhhh will you wear your dress uniform? I bet you look so amazing in your dress blues.”

“Yeah, I’ll wear them. I’d love you to go with me, babe.”

“Then it’s a date. I’ll get a fancy dress and I’ll be there with the sweetest, best, most handsome Marine ever.” You snuggled against his neck. “And you’re so warrrrrrrm.”

He chuckled. “Why don’t you take a nap, sweetheart.”

“Are you gonna leave?” you asked, then yawned.

“Nah, I’ll be right here when you wake up,” he whispered, dropping a kiss to the top of your head as he heard your breathing even out as you drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

You woke up feeling safe and warm and cozy, unlike any other time you could remember. You tried to identify the source of your warmth and security before you were completely alert, and then realized that your pillow was Billy and popped up, wide awake.

Billy was sleeping with you on the sofa, pressed against you as closely as possible, one hand in your hair and the other on your ass. And oh my, was he carrying a gun while you were napping? That didn’t seem safe. You slid your hand between you to remove the gun from his holy shit that was not a gun!

“Y/N, I had no idea. All ya had to do was ask,” he breathed out as he felt your hand slide over his groin.

“Ohmygod Billy I’m so sorry!” you exclaimed, pulling your hand away as soon as your fever and sleep dulled mind realized what you were feeling. “I thought you had a gun.”

Billy started laughing. “There is not a damned thing I can say to make this better, babe, so how about we just agree that you’re welcome to play with my gun whenever you want and leave it at that.”

You hid your face against his chest and waited until he was done laughing. When he seemed to be finished with his hilarity, you looked up into his smiling face. “Sorry I felt you up.”

“I’m not,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Billy!” you scolded. “Tryin’ to apologize here.”

“Fine,” he said with a gentle smack to your ass, which called attention to the fact that he still had his hand on it, you were still pressed intimately against him and he was still hard as a rock.

“Um,” you said, looking down awkwardly. “I think I’ll go take a shower.”

“Want some company?”

“OK behave,” you said as you scrambled up to climb off him. At one point you wound up straddling him, which brought your groins into direct contact, pulling a gasp from you and a groan from him, his hips moving a little of their own volition.

“Jesus, Bill,” you said, “I’m sorry!” You hurried up and off him, scampering to the steps to go up and shower.

Billy watched you bounce up the stairs and decided to go to the other bathroom off the kitchen and relieve some pressure. The sound of you gasping as your eyes closed when he had instinctively thrust a bit and rubbed his cock against you – well, he would be replaying that in his mind in jerk sessions for the foreseeable future.

* * *

 

You were so embarrassed. Even though you had been more than half asleep, you still had essentially squeezed Billy’s dick through his jeans and then straddled him and when he had closed his eyes and his mouth dropped open a little and he groaned – Christ, you wanted to see that in action.

You hadn’t even considered dating anyone in years, now you were thinking of how Billy would be in bed? Alarms went off in your head and you actually had a small panic attack.  _Danger, Y/N! Billy was the last guy on Earth to fall for; he would never settle down._  You had heard Maria and Frank talk about his hound dog ways often enough to know better, yet you were actually hot and bothered right now.

You got in the shower and turned the water to tepid. This was all because you were sick. You needed to get him to leave and not see him again until you were well and in control of all of your faculties. You would never look at him this way if he hadn’t been so sweet in taking care of you and cuddling you so you would get warm.

Wait…why was Billy taking care of you?

* * *

 

You got out of the shower and got some comfy clothes on and towel dried your hair, then went downstairs to find Billy waiting for you on the sofa. He had taken your tray to the kitchen but left the flowers in the table.

He stood up and made as if to help you to the couch, wrapping his arms around around you and guiding you over and sitting down next to you.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, checking your forehead for a fever.

“OK. Hungry. You going to the cookout or…?”

“Nah, I thought I’d hang out with you,” he said softly.

“Cool,” you said uncertainly. “Pizza?”

“Sounds good. Where from?”

“Whatever you want, Bill,” you said, drawing your legs up onto the sofa.

He pulled the blanket up onto your lap and draped his arm across your shoulders. “Still cold?”

“Little bit. I need to take some more Advil.”

“I got you some cold medicine, too.”

“Let me know what I owe you,” you said, unconsciously snuggling against him. “You smell good.”

“You have no filter when you’re sick, do you?” he said with a grin.

You sat up straight and said, “Sorry.”

He pulled you close again. “Kinda like it.”

“Me, too,” you said, relaxing again and deciding you’d worry about your feelings for Billy after you were feeling better.

* * *

 

You had fallen asleep on Billy again after you had eaten a slice of pizza and taken cold medicine. You had let him pick the movie since you knew you’d probably crash, though you hadn’t intended it to be on him.

“Hey, sweetheart, wake up,” he said quietly as he gently shook you.

You slowly opened your eyes and smiled at him, then snuggled in and closed your eyes again.

Billy felt a little flutter in his gut at your smile. “Y/N, c'mon, time for you to take some more cold medicine and get to bed.”

“Are you growing a beard?” you asked nonsensically.

“Think I should?” he asked with a smile.

“You’d look good. But you always look good,” you whispered.

Billy felt your forehead and noted that your fever had gone up again. Too bad the only time you flirted with him was when you were out of your head.

“C'mon, sweetheart, time for bed,” he said, extricating himself from your hold, getting to his feet and then pulling you to yours.

You let him lead you to the steps, climbing up by yourself after he said he’d be right there.

Billy gathered your cold medicines and got you a glass of juice and a bottle of water and followed you upstairs.

“Knock knock,” he called out as he came up the steps.

“In here,” you said, already changed into an oversized t-shirt that said ‘My Best Friend Won A Wet T-Shirt Contest and All I Got Was A Dry T-shirt.’

“I want that shirt,” Billy said with a chuckle.

“Get Maria to win another wet t-shirt contest,” you replied.

“No way!” he exclaimed.

“Oops. I mean…I won. No. You can’t tell her I told you!” you said, a little panicked.

“Oh, sweetheart, I am coming over whenever you’re sick,” he said, walking over to set your medicine on your nightstand. “Here, take this.”

“I love orange juice,” you said happily after you took all the pills he handed you.

“I know.”

You laughed a little. “You could have given me anything and I just took it without even looking. Guess I trust you, Russo.”

“That’s nice to know, Y/L/N,” he said softly, warmed by your admission.

“I’m cold. Would you mind letting me use your body one more time?” you said with a dopey smile.

“Well, OK, since you asked so sweetly. Can I take off my jeans?”

“You’re not commando, are you?”

“No!”

“Hop in, Bill. Freezing.”

“Ok,” he said, pulling you close and smiling when you tangled your legs with his and sighed happily.

“Warm,” you said sleepily.

“Go to sleep, sweetheart, then I’ll head out and lock up.”

Except he was so comfortable he fell asleep, too, and slept better than he had in years.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

You woke up feeling warm and toasty and without a headache, so you were pretty sure the worst was past. It sucked that you had missed the party, though. You went to roll over and your waist was pinned down by – an arm. And you were warm because the owner of the arm was pressed to your back. And that was quite the bulge pressing against your ass.

You peeked over your shoulder and saw Billy sleeping peacefully, cuddling you like Frank Jr. cuddled Mr. Bear. And then yesterday came rushing back to you; Billy showing up when you didn’t come to the party, Billy bringing you soup and medicine and orange juice, Billy cuddling you when you were cold, Billy taking care of you all day long and apparently all night, too.

What the fuck?

You turned around to face him, looking at his sleeping face. Good God, he was handsome. Like Renaissance statue handsome. His jaw was dark with a few days’ growth of beard and his long lashes brushed his cheekbones. Honestly, it wasn’t fair that he was so perfect. Even his freckles were perfect.

Why had he missed out on his party to take care of you?

As if he could tell he was being observed, Billy’s eyes fluttered open and he smiled at you. “Good morning. How’s my patient?”

“Much better, thank you,” you said quietly. “I’m sorry you missed your party.”

He shrugged a bit. “No big deal, I’ll see the people who were there again.”

You chuckled a bit. “I bet I am not who you hoped to wake up with this morning.”

“Only because you’re more than I could have ever hoped for,” he said quietly, kissing your forehead.

“Huh?”

Billy smiled shyly and said, “We can talk about this when you’re feeling better. How about I make you some pancakes?”

“I should be cooking for you. Thank you for taking such good care of me, Bill,” you said softly, reaching up to touch his cheek.

He closed his eyes and looked like he was memorizing the sensation. It was a quick touch that meant the world to him. “Maybe a plague-ridden horse will trample me and spit in my mouth so you can return the favor,” he said with a chuckle.

“Huh?” you said in confusion.

He laughed outright. “I’m glad you feel better, but Sick Y/N was a trip.”

You leaned your head against his chest and said, “I probably don’t want to know, do I? My Mom has always said that I was a nutcase when I was sick. She had to pick me up from school once because they were accusing me of being high.”

Billy was still laughing at that. You looked up at him when he slowed down. God, so handsome. What was a man like that doing in your bed?

“What’re you doin’ here, Bill?” you whispered.

“Takin’ care of a sick friend,” he said quietly.

“You cuddle with Frank when he gets sick?”

He chuckled. “Frank doesn’t get dopey enough to ask me to use my body when he has a fever, so no.”

You closed your eyes in utter mortification. “I’m so sorry, Billy,” you said, sliding away from him.

He let you go but said, “Y/N, nobody can make me be somewhere I don’t wanna be.”

“You wanna be tangled in bed with a raving lunatic who says shit like the plague horse and uses you for your body?” you asked, laughing in disbelief.

“Nope. Just you.”

He got out of bed and you caught yourself checking him out in his boxer briefs.

He smirked, liking that you were looking. That was new. “Gonna go down and hit the head and check out breakfast options.”

“OK, I’ll be down in a little while,” you said quietly.

You were just looking at Billy like a hungry dog looks at a juicy steak.  _What the fuck, Y/N?_

Billy was off limits. You knew that. He was a dog, a manwhore. He used women and never saw them again. He was male perfection and you would never have anything but heartbreak if you barked up that tree.

You needed Maria. You checked your watch and thought that they might be home from church. You dialed.

“Hello?”

Shit. Of course Frank answered. “Hey, Frank, is Maria handy?”

“Yeah, kid. How you feeling?”

“A lot better, thanks.”

“Good. Bill was real worried about you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, ‘bout went crazy when you didn’t show up and didn’t answer your phone.”

“Huh.”

“Here’s Maria. Later, kid.”

There was a brief clatter and then, “Y/N? How you feeling?”

“Better but Maria, Billy took care of me and slept with me and we cuddled all night and now he’s making me breakfast and I looked at him like he was dipped in chocolate and I’m freaking out can you come over like I didn’t call please?”

“Be right there.”

She disconnected and you sat down on the bed. If you dawdled a bit she would get there before you had to be alone with him much longer.

You went to the bathroom, surprised at how weak you felt, but you had always felt beat up after a fever. Luckily you only got sick once or twice a year.

You went potty, washed your face, brushed your teeth and tidied your hair, then went back to your bedroom to throw on a t-shirt and shorts.

Just as you reached the bottom of the steps you heard Maria come in the back door. “Hey, Billy, what are you doing here?” you heard her ask.

“Just taking care of a sick friend,” he answered pleasantly, thinking to himself that he was in trouble, and in more ways than one.

“Never known you to miss a party before.”

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything,” he answered tightly.

You coughed purposely which turned into a genuine hack, then went into the kitchen as if you hadn’t been eavesdropping.

“Hey, Maria,” you said, regretting calling her when you saw how tense Billy was and how Mama Bear she was. You found yourself feeling protective of Billy, which was ridiculous and weird. “I called her, Bill.”

“Why?” he said.

“Panic.”

Billy looked hurt, angry and betrayed all at once. “I can see that I’m not wanted here. I’ll just go.”

“Wait,” you said, but he just walked away, back stiff and shoulders set.

“Shit,” you whispered.

“Y/N,” Maria asked softly. “Did you…honey, did you fall for Billy?”

The front door slammed as Billy left.

“Bill,” you whispered.

“Y/N?”

“I screwed up, Maria,” you whispered.

* * *

You got a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table with Maria. You told her how he had taken care of you, how you had been your usual weird self when you had a fever, how you had crawled all over him and he had kept you warm and how safe you felt with him. You hadn’t actually panicked until you realized that you were starting to care for him as more than a friend.

“Maria, I didn’t mean to hurt him,” you sniffed, tears rolling down your cheeks. “He was so nice and I called you to rescue me from him. He didn’t do a single thing to make me feel unsafe.”

“He hasn’t tried anything?” she asked in surprise.

“No!” you denied adamantly. “Billy has been a gentleman. He…he’s been  perfect. I’m just such a fuckin’ wreck.”

“Hey, shhhh,” she soothed. “It’ll be OK. He’s a Marine. He’s gonna be fine.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Why would he care about me?” you agreed. “He’ll probably go get laid on his way back to base.” You sobbed a little.

Maria leaned back in shock. “You really care about him, don’t you?”

“I mean, he’s my friend. But like last week he was talking about wanting what Frank has with you. And I was thinking that maybe I would want something like that someday, too. That’s all. I’m just stupid, he probably didn’t mean me anyway.”

* * *

Billy slammed out the front door and stalked to his car, glad that he hadn’t parked in the garage last night but pissed that he had left stuff in your house. He’d have to get Frank to pick it up for him because he was sick of jumping through fucking hoops for you.

No matter what he did, you pushed him away. He had plenty of women who wanted him. He was tired of chasing the one who didn’t want him back. Maybe he was being unreasonable but he had tried harder for you than any other girl he had ever known. If his best wasn’t good enough then fuck it.

He was going to go back to who he really was and forget Frank’s quality bullshit. Quantity had worked for years; he was done trying to change for you.


	12. Chapter 12

“I’m worried Frank. She should be here by now,” Maria said.

“Who?” Billy asked suspiciously.

“Y/N,” Frank answered with a guilty smile.

It was trivia night and Frank had sweet talked Billy into coming by apparently lying his ass off and saying you wouldn’t be there. Except now you weren’t and that was a problem?

“Probably doesn’t want to see me any more than I want to see her,” he said, taking a drink of his beer and shooting daggers at Frank with his eyes.

Maria set her phone down again. “She’s not answering her house or cell phone.”

“Maybe she’s asleep,” he said, scanning the room for a girl to accessorize with if you showed up.

Maria made another call. “Hey, Paula? It’s Maria. Was Y/N OK today at work?” There was a pause as she listened. “What? Shit. Yeah, I’ll go check on her. Thanks. Yeah, I’ll let you know.”

She disconnected and started to stand. “She didn’t show up for work and didn’t call in. Her boss was worried because she’s never done that. I’m going over.”

Frank and Curtis and their friend Rob also stood to leave. “If there’s a problem, you ain’t goin’ alone,” Frank said.

Billy was worried, too. He stood to go along.

“We’ll see you next week, brother,” Curtis said, assuming he was going to leave.

“Nah, I’ll come and see what’s up,” he said, trying to sound indifferent.

Maria said, “Maybe if someone she’s been trying to get to talk to her for a month or so called she would answer.”

Billy shot her a look. He still partially blamed Maria. Nevertheless he picked up his phone and called. When it went to voicemail, he tried your cell phone. After a few rings, he heard your voice. “Billy?” you said quietly. Your voice sound ragged and like you had been crying.

“Yeah, Y/N, you OK sweetheart?” he said, heart in his mouth.

“He’s out. He’s out.”

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna be there in like five minutes,” he said, hearing you mumble “He’s out” over and over.

“What’s she saying?” Maria asked.

“He’s out?” Billy said, covering the mic and watching Maria’s face go white.

“C'mon,” she said urgently.

“Sweetheart, can you hear me?” he said calmly, following Frank and Maria to their car.

“He’s out.”

“Babe, listen to me, I’m coming over, but when I get there I need you to unlock the door for me. Can you do that, honey?” he coaxed gently.

“You’re coming?” you asked.

“Yeah, babe, I’m almost there. Let me in so I can take care of you, OK?”

He held his breath and waited until you said, “Yeah, OK. Thanks.”

“Don’t hang up, sweetheart,” he said quickly.

“OK.”

“We’re pulling in the driveway, honey, you at the door?”

“I can’t,” you whispered.

“OK, babe, I’ll wait. I’m almost on the porch, and I’ll stay here for a month if you need me to.”

“No, I’ll come down. I need you,” you whispered. “You make me feel safe.”

“Well, I like hearing that. You keep me right, so I guess it’s a good thing I do something for you,” he said cheerfully.

He heard the locks clicking and said, “Good job, sweetheart, I’m gonna hang up now OK?”

You opened the door and threw yourself into Billy’s arms, sobbing and babbling. He picked you up and carried you inside, took you to the tiltback and sat down with you. He had no idea what was going on but you were shaking and sobbing and clinging to him like he was all that was keeping you alive.

Maria stood back and watched. Frank was filling Curtis and Rob in and she heard him call her. She went outside and saw what they were looking at.

Across the street from the house there was a car idling, the driver watching the house. “Fuck,” she hissed. “That’s Peter.”

* * *

You were calming down, finally feeling safe after Billy cuddled you for a while.

“I missed you, Billy,” you said simply.

“I missed you, too, sweetheart.”

“I’m sorry I was an asshole,” you whispered.

“I just wanna understand, babe.”

You were silent for a while as Billy just held you, rubbing your back and kissing your hair.

“I got a call this morning to let me know that the man who almost killed me had been granted a new trial and bail and had been released from Ossining.”

Billy let out a woosh of air. He felt more rage than he had ever thought he could.

“So, the accident…?”

“No accident. I tried to break up with him and he said the whole ‘If I can’t have you’ thing and started hitting me. Apparently he kept going long after I passed out.”

Billy took a deep breath through his nose and you could hear his teeth grinding. His anger actually made you feel better.

“I lived with Maria then. She had just started dating Frank. She came home and found me, barely alive. Called an ambulance. I was in a medically induced coma for a few days and was a giant bruise with a bunch of broken bones.

“But hey, he didn’t rape me! The nurses acted like I should just be thankful or something. And I guess I am. But what he did messed me up for…well, still.”

Billy closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He wanted to find this prick and do to him what he had done to you, and then finish the job so the fucker never hurt anyone again. But, right now you didn’t need his fury; he needed to save that for later. Now you needed his understanding and his trust.

“Yeah, sweetheart, I – I understand. I…when I was about eleven, a volunteer at the group home where I lived –” he began, but couldn’t find the words. He wanted to tell you, but he could not get the words out.

“Shh Bill,” you said, pulling him close. “Ain’t we a pair?”

“Yeah, but listen to me, Y/N. Look at me.”

You leaned away from him and wiped your eyes on your sleeve.

“He will never touch you again. Do you hear me? On my honor, he will never touch you again.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face against his throat. “Thank you, Bill. I don’t deserve you.”

Maria came back inside, followed by Frank. They went over and sat on the sofa and looked at the two of you together. Maria was kicking herself for trying to keep you apart. She had no idea that you actually cared for each other; she never would have believed that Billy would actually want to be with you and only you. She looked at Frank and he just shrugged. He’d tried to tell her, she wouldn’t listen.

Billy was crazy about you.

“So,” she began, and you peeked up from where you had been hiding against Billy. “I wish you would have called me. But Peter was just outside in a car.”

You tensed up and started to climb off Billy’s lap and hide, but he held you and said, “Hey, what did I tell you, sweetheart? Focus on my voice.”

“On your honor, he will never touch me again,” you repeated.

He tipped his forehead against yours and said, “That’s right. Who do you think is meaner? This Peter guy or me?”

“I mean, Peter?” you said, confused. “You’re really nice.”

“Tell her, Frankie,” he said smugly.

Frank grunted. “You are currently sitting on the lap of one of the deadliest Marines there is. He has more confirmed sniper kills than any other active Marine. He’s also deadly at close range with firearms and almost as badass as me in hand-to-hand combat. And he has a real talent with knives.”

You turned and looked at Billy with your brow wrinkled. “Really?”

“Yes,” he said, kissing your forehead. “Now, what do we do?”

“Did you call the police?” Maria asked.

You shook your head in shame. “I froze up.” Suddenly your head popped up and you looked at Billy questioningly.

“OK, let’s do that, then,” Frank said. “C'mon, Maria.” He had seen how you looked at Bill and knew you wanted to talk to him.

After they were gone, you looked down and said, “Thank you for calling, you pulled me out of my fear. But you don’t have to stay here, I know you don’t want to be around me.” Then you started to stand.

“Hey,” Billy said, gently holding you still. “I want to be around you. Hell, I wanna be around you all the time. I just…I didn’t know about any of this, and I didn’t understand how you could be scared of me.”

“I want to really explain everything, Bill. You didn’t cause me to panic, though, it was more that I haven’t been as close to anyone as I am – was with you.”

He squeezed you and said, “Present tense.”

You smiled at that and continued. “So I was panicking at the idea of trusting anyone, not trusting you. It wasn’t Billy specific, y'know?”

“Now I do. And we’ll have plenty of time to talk because I’m not leaving your side until that prick is back in jail.”

“I can’t believe I fell apart like that,” you whispered.

“You had a bad day. They’ll be better now.”

You scoffed. “Yeah? How do you figure?”

“Coz I’m back,” he said with a grin.

“There’s that humble guy I trust,” you said with a smile.

“That’s my girl,” he said. “And as much as I’m enjoying you sitting on my lap barely clothed, how about you go throw on some clothes before Curt and Rob come inside?”

“Jesus, I didn’t even think,” you said, getting up. Suddenly the stairway looked sinister. You took a shaky breath and started to walk slowly to the steps.

Billy, of course, noticed. “Hey, I think I left my watch here, have you seen it?”

“No?”

“Maybe I should come up and look for it while you get dressed,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Thanks, Bill.”

“No problem, sweetheart,” he said quietly. “Hang on a sec though.”

He went to the kitchen and signaled to Frank that you were going upstairs and he was going with you. Frank nodded his understanding.

You looked at him questioningly.

“Didn’t want Mama Bear to come tearing up there with a butcher knife,” he said as he slid off his jacket and hanged it on the coat rack by yours.

You grabbed some jeans and a sweater and went to the bathroom to wash your face and get dressed while Billy sat on your bed and called his boss to ask about taking some time off. You would need to do the same tomorrow.

You went and sat down next to Billy and he put his arm around you while he talked. You settled your head on his shoulder and just absorbed him. You had missed him so much. It was like he had just slipped around your defenses and you hadn’t even realized how much you trusted him until he wasn’t a part of your life. You were accustomed to him being deployed, yes, so his physical presence was a fairly recent bonus, but his wit and charm and humor and intelligence: those were what you had missed most. You hadn’t even realized how much you looked forward to talking to him, whether by phone, email or in person – not until you couldn’t.

“OK. Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir. I will be bringing her onto base with me tomorrow while I fill out the paperwork. Yes, Sir.”

He disconnected and lay back on the bed, pulling you down with him. “We have to go to base tomorrow.”

“Billy, you don’t need to take time off for me,” you said softly.

“Don’t worry about it. First of all, I am, and second, I have a shitload of leave.”

“OK. Thanks.”

“Hey,” he said a bit awkwardly. “I’m ah…I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you.”

You were laying on your side against him with your hand on his chest, so you slid it around him and hugged him. “It’s in the past. You’re a stubborn one though,” you said, smiling up at him.

Fuck, he wanted to kiss you. Now was not the time, but at least he thought the time might eventually come. That was better than when he got up this morning.

“We better go back down and see what Maria found out,” he said, giving you a quick squeeze and then sitting up.

You held onto his hand until you got to the steps, then went down and looked out the front door to see Curt and Rob on the front porch. “Hi, guys. Wanna come in?”

“Hey, Y/N,” Curtis said warmly, then looked down the street to the headlights inching slowly up the block. “No, I think we better stay here.”

“How about some coffee?” you said.

“That’d be great. How about you get out of sight?”

You nodded and started to close the door, but Billy caught it. “Be right back, babe.”

“Billy, no,” you whispered.

“Just gonna have a look.”

You sighed. “Stubborn man.”

“Yep. Make a lot of coffee, OK?”

“Yeah,” you said, closing the door partway and going to the kitchen.


	13. Chapter 13

“Now, Billy, don’t do anything stupid,” Curtis said.

“Just gonna let him see she traded up,” Billy said, leaning casually against the pillar. “How many times he been by?”

“Probably ten,” Rob supplied.

“Hey, would you guys go get my car for me before you head home?” he asked, eyes not leaving the car coming slowly down the street. He stepped off the porch onto the sidewalk as the car rolled to a stop in front of the house. He folded his arms across his chest in a stance meant to intimidate, smirk on his face.

“Billy,” Curtis warned.

“Relax, Curt, I’m not gonna do anything to keep this piece of shit from going back to prison,” he said loudly.

“Think you’re some kind of badass, Pretty Boy?” Peter snarled.

“I think I know which one of us is gonna be sleeping with Y/N tonight,” Billy replied with a big smile.

“Hope your shots are up to date if you’re fucking that whore,” he sneered, then sped away.

Billy’s smile slipped and his face twitched in rage. He growled loudly before he shook it off and went back inside, handing his car keys to Curtis on the way in. “Thanks, brother.”

* * *

“What did they say?” you asked.

“Where’s Bill?” Frank asked.

“Out front taunting Peter. How about you go get him?”

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “Billy can be a hothead.”

Maria snorted as he walked away. “Yeah. Billy can be. Never Frank.”

You chuckled. “Hey, sorry I worried you.”

“Just glad you’re OK.”

Frank and Billy appeared as you started making coffee.

“Well,” Maria said. “Apparently the secondary detective on your case was found to be on some gangster’s payroll, so all of the cases he worked are being reviewed. Peter’s family has money so they were able to get him a new trial and bail.”

“Awesome. His father is a prick,” you said bitterly. “He learned from the best.”

“But, you can go and file a restraining order. He’s smart, he knew that the old one would expire while he was in jail.”

You sighed and looked at Billy. He seemed upset, moreso than when he went outside. “You OK?”

“Yeah, fine,” he said shortly. “Frank, can I talk to you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Frank said, following Billy to the front porch. Curtis and Rob had left to get his car and he didn’t see headlights creeping down the street for now.

“What do we know about this Peter guy?” Billy began.

“Met Y/N in college. Family has money, like Maria said. Controlling. I never met him and Maria only told me what happened a few weeks ago.”

Billy nodded and was silent for a moment. “What’d he do before he went to jail?”

“I dunno, some finance guy or another. Trader maybe. Why?”

Billy scoffed. “That’s who she dates.”

“That’s who she dated, yeah,” Frank replied calmly. “But I don’t think it was because of the money or the job.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure,” he said skeptically. “Better get back in there.”

“Listen, Bill –” Frank began.

“It’s fine, man. Good to know.”

“Brother, I been pushin’ you two together since that day at the pool because I think you’d be good for each other. Don’t throw it away for a fallacy, man.”

“Yeah,” Billy said, but Frank could see from the set of his shoulders that he wasn’t listening.

* * *

“What’s that all about?” you asked Maria as Billy led Frank outside.

“Who knows? With those two, probably something the little ladies couldn’t handle hearing.”

You shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him with how I acted today.”

“It’s completely understandable. That was some unpleasant and unexpected news.”

“Poor Billy. He always seems to be stuck with me getting my crazy all over him.”

“He doesn’t seem to mind,” Maria said with a lewd expression.

“Right. Billy Russo could want a nutcase like me,” you said sadly.

“What?” Maria asked incredulously. Even she believed Billy was in love with you, you couldn’t see that?

“I’m not like his usual bimbos. We’re friends, that’s all we’ll ever be,” you said sadly.

“Absolutely,” Billy said.

You gasped. “Yeah,” you agreed with a weak smile.

“Now that we have that cleared up, I think you two should head home to the kids and Y/N should go to bed. Early start tomorrow,” he said roughly. “I’ll catch some shut-eye on the sofa.”

“I can make up the guest room for you,” you offered.

“No need.”

“OK,” you said quietly. “G'night.”

“Night.”

“Thanks for coming over, guys,” you said quietly. “I’ll just take some coffee out to Curt and Rob.”

“I told them to go on home. I got this,” he said.

“OK. Night,” you whispered.

* * *

Billy was downstairs watching TV. He checked out the window occasionally, but your security was actually good and he didn’t think that Peter was stupid enough to attack someone his own size.

Peter. He’d never met a Peter he liked. Hell, the traitor in Harry Potter was named Peter. Those were some of the books you had put on his Kindle. He had related a little too much to Harry.

Why was he back here? He had been right to put you out of his mind. He’d gone back to his old life and hadn’t looked back. Much.

OK, yeah, he hadn’t really been dating. He went and angry-banged a couple chicks when you first said you were scared of him, but after that he hadn’t really wanted anyone. Well, that wasn’t strictly true.

He wanted you.

But you had made it clear, over and over, that he would never be with you. Apparently he only deserved bimbos.

He wanted nothing more than to deploy early. Maybe he would see if he could. Shooting people sounded like fun right about now.

* * *

You were in bed, tears running down your cheeks as you laid on your side staring at the moonlight around the edges of your shades. You had been so happy Billy was back, but he apparently was only here because you were in trouble. Like you were a goddamn charity case.

You sat up. You had called, texted and emailed him repeatedly in the last several weeks. You had even begged him to forgive you in one email. You hadn’t stooped to telling him about Peter; you wanted his friendship back, not his pity.

Ha, friendship. You were done lying to yourself; you were in love with Billy. And he straight up told you that he would never want someone like you.

You sobbed after you let that really sink in for a minute. The man you loved, the man you had found yourself trusting after years of hiding: he would never return your feelings.

Then, after you were out of tears, you went across the hall and peed (why did crying make you have to pee?) and washed your hands and face, then straightened your spine to go and ask the man you loved to get out of your life.


	14. Chapter 14

You walked slowly down the stairs to see Billy sitting in the dark, watching you descend.

“Go back to bed, Y/N. Haven’t seen your rich boyfriend for a while but I got this,” he said with a touch of a sneer.

“He’s my ex, Russo,” you responded coldly. “My ex that almost killed me. Dick.”

“Whatever. Go back upstairs.”

“No.”

“Let’s just say I’m not burning for your company, and I know you aren’t for mine, so how about it?” he said, full sneer in place now.

“Well, this is my house, so if you find my company so offensive, maybe you should leave,” you sneered back.

“What the fuck, are you kiddin’ me here?” voice dripping with incredulity. “You couldn’t even move to answer the door earlier, now you’re throwing me out?”

“Yeah, throw my weakness in my face. That’s what he did, too. Told me I was useless and weak and that I was lucky he loved me, that no other man ever would. So, thanks for reinforcing to me that there are no good men in the world, Bill,” you said furiously.

That pissed Billy off. He got to his feet and stalked over to you to try and intimidate you with his height. “What, you’re gonna what, gonna compare me to that rich asshole?” he stormed, pointing generally out in the street. “I didn’t have a daddy to buy my way through life! I’ve had to work for everything I have!”

You threw your hands up. “Oh my God, is that what this is about? Fucking money? Cars and suits and houses? Christ, when will it be enough?” you shouted.

“It’s easy for you to criticize me, you grew up with a family and a house and school and a college fund. I never had any of that, Princess!” he roared.

“I know, but when will you ever be happy?” you shouted back, refusing to back down from his anger. You were not that woman anymore, he needed to see that.

“Happy? What the fuck does happy have to do with it?” he yelled, hands gesturing wildly.

“You think those things will make up for what you didn’t have growing up? Do you think they’ll fill the hole in your soul? Because, I got news for ya, sweetheart,” you roared right back, “you feed it with that shit and it will just get deeper and emptier until all you have left is a bank account and a string of whores. But that probably sounds perfect to you, huh?”

“Oh, right, I can’t buy what I missed out on,huh?” he sneered. “The best things in life are free? I’ve had the free shit all my life, darlin’, and all it ever got me was used up and kicked to the curb by little rich girls who only wanna get dirty in private.”

“Well, what will the expensive things get you, then? Dirty rich girls in public?” 

“Respect? Ever heard of it?” 

“I respect you now, Bill,” you screamed. 

“Oh, so you’d introduce a guy like me to your perfect family as what, as your boyfriend? Fiance?” he challenged you incredulously

“I mean…if we were dating or getting married, yeah?” you answered honestly, and a little more quietly, utterly confused.

Billy laughed scornfully. “Like that’d ever happen.”

That hurt. “Hey, I know I’m a mess, but you don’t have to be mean about it,” you said roughly, as if you had to push the words past pain blocking your throat.

“Wait, what?”

“'Oh, like that’d ever happen,’” you mimicked in a low, dopey voice. You poked him in the chest. “I may not be up to your high standards, Lieutenant Russo, but I’m a good person. You could do worse! Get out!” you exploded, turning and stomping through the dining room and into the kitchen.

Of course he followed you. Of course he did. “I meant like you’d ever go out with me, Y/N!” he snapped.

“Oh, please, I practically proposed to you earlier,” you scoffed. “We both know that if you wanted to ask me out, you would have by now.”

“I didn’t because Maria threatened to kill me!” he defended himself.

“Oh, bullshit, when have you ever listened to anyone ever about anything?” you railed at him as you stomped past him and back to the living room, determined to be in a different room from him.

“You’d go out with me?” he asked quietly, almost timidly.

You heard the doubt in his voice and turned to look at him. There was such vulnerability in his expression, unlike anything you had ever seen from him. Your anger just melted. You smiled gently and walked over to stand in front of him, then laid a hand on his cheek. “Billy, if you asked me, I’d marry you. So yeah, a date would be totally doable.”

“What?” he asked, utterly amazed.

You shrugged and decided to show him your heart. “I love you. I realized it when you were gone and I just – God I missed you so much,” you admitted quietly. “I’ve been crazy about you for ages, Bill. I just thought you liked your women a little…sluttier…than me.”

He shook his head slowly as if in disbelief. “No, you’re…perfect. You’re who I want to build an empire to impress. You’re who I want to be able to hand the moon if you ask.”

“Bill, I have been impressed for a long time. And I would never ask for the moon if I could just hold you. You’re every romance cliche come to life. And I feel so safe with you that I’m standing here screaming like a lunatic at someone who is apparently one of the deadliest men alive because I know you would never hurt me in a million years. I wasn’t living before I met you. You – you brought me back to life. And I love you,” you finished simply. “I love you so much.”

“You love me?” he whispered in disbelief.

“I’ve said it like five times in the last three minutes. And it was terrifying, so please believe me. I love you,” you said, then looked down. “Do…do you think you could ever –”

Billy pulled you into a kiss, starting gently and murmuring, “I love you, Y/N,” against your lips over and over. You whispered the pledge back to him as you wrapped your arms around his neck, sighing against his mouth. He slanted his lips to deepen the kiss and it was perfect; there was no first kiss awkwardness, no bumping noses or clunking teeth, just perfect love expressed perfectly.

When you pulled apart for air, you were both panting a bit. Billy looked into your eyes and saw the truth; you had never been afraid of him and were no longer afraid of your feelings for him. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too, Bill.”

“I’ve never said that to a woman before.”

“Never had tender, romantic, above-the-waist feelings for one before?” you asked with an impish grin.

Billy grinned back. “Nope. Not til you.”

You smiled and wrapped your arms around his waist, just elated to finally acknowledge to yourself and tell him the truth. You loved him more than life and you would spend the rest of yours demonstrating that to him.

Billy gathered you as close as he could without breaking ribs. He couldn’t believe that you loved him, now, as is. He didn’t think he deserved you yet, but he was not going to look this particular gift horse in the mouth.

You sighed and he tensed. Had you come to your senses already?

“We still have to deal with that dickhead being out of prison.”

Billy sighed in relief. “Is that all?”

You snorted and leaned away to look up at him. “Not enough for you?” you asked sarcastically.

He shrugged. “You said the operative word.”

“What’s that?”

“'We.’ We’ll deal with it. Together. He can’t hurt us, babe.”

You smiled dreamily. “Together. I like that.”

He kissed you gently. “It’s been a long day. You should get to bed.”

You looked at the clock. “My parents are still up. I need to call them.”

“OK,” he agreed, assuming you meant to tell them about Peter.

You went and plopped down on the sofa next to him, snuggling into his side as he put his arm around you.

“Hi, Dad. Is Mom still up? Cool, put me on speaker, you both need to hear this. Hi, Mom! So, I wanted to tell you – wait, are you both sitting down? OK. I’m in love!”

Billy looked down at you in amazement. That was what you needed to call your parents for so late?

“Billy. Yes, that Billy. Yes. Because he’s perfect.” Billy could feel himself getting worried and tensing up. Of course your parents knew who he was, and of course they didn’t like him. Now they were going to talk you out of being with him!

“OK, gonna put you guys on speaker!”

Billy was vigorously shaking his head no; he was not prepared for this. You nodded back and hit the speaker button. “Say hi, everybody!”

Your parents chorused “Hi” over the phone and he squeezed out a weak, “Hello.”

“I was thinking we should get together so you guys can really meet Billy. He’s been such a huge part of my life and I can’t wait for you to love him as much as I do.”

You could feel Billy’s heart beating rapidly and leaned up to kiss him.

He smiled down at you and realized that this might be uncomfortable but that you were doing it for him so that he wouldn’t have time to dwell on how he wasn’t good enough.

“I’m sure we will, Pumpkin,” your father said.

“Cool, I’ll make some reservations for Friday night and let you know where and when tomorrow, k?” you said happily.

“Sounds good, Y/N,” your Mom said pleasantly.

“Ah, isn’t there something else you should probably tell them, babe?” Billy asked.

“Nah,” you said, shaking your head at him.

“Uh huh. OK well, she doesn’t seem inclined, but since you still live in the house where she grew up and I assume he’s been there, you should probably know that Peter got out of prison today and has been doing drive-bys over here tonight.”

“What the hell?” your father roared. “And you weren’t going to tell us, young lady?”

“I didn’t want to worry you! Billy’s taking care of me and we’re going to get a restraining order and talk to the Prosecutor tomorrow. I’m fine, Bill’s got me.”

“She’s right, I won’t let anything happen to her, but I think you should be aware of your surroundings, too. He’s out and feels wronged for some reason. I think he might like some revenge. He was not complimentary to Y/N when I spoke with him earlier.”

You poked him in the side. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“Uh oh,” your Dad said. “Bill, you’re about to find out about my baby girl’s temper.”

“I already saw it, and it made me happy as hell, sir,” he answered, grinning down at you.

“Good man. Let us know what you find out tomorrow.”

“Will do,” Billy responded as you said, “OK.”

“Night parent types,” you said happily.

“G'night, Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N.”

“Goodnight,” they chorused.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” your Mother said sternly.

“Yes, Mommy Dearest,” you said tartly

“Brat,” she said good-naturedly.

“Love you guys,” you said softly.

“Love you, too. Take care of our girl, Bill,” your Dad said.

“I plan to,” Billy answered.

You hug up and looked up at him to see if he was mad.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile.

“You would have worried,” you said quietly.

“You know me well.”

“And I love you for every part of you.”

Billy got his pervy smirk and you laughed.

“Yeah, that part is pretty intriguing. Can’t wait to explore it,” you said with a wink.

Billy got a little more serious and kissed your forehead and said, “But not tonight.”

You looked at him, shocked. “Why?”

“Because, when we make love, I want to make it a memory that isn’t colored by your asshole ex or by me being a dick for weeks or you being terrified all day.”

“Oh,” you said quietly.

He nodded. “We’ll make love together a million times, but I need the first time to be perfect. OK?”

You looked at him in complete adoration. “A million times, huh?”

“That’ll just be by our first wedding anniversary,” he said with a wink.

“Is it OK if my cowboy boots don’t match each other for our wedding?” you said with a grin.

Billy grinned happily; he had as much as proposed and you had essentially said yes. “I don’t care what you wear, as long as you’re Mrs. Russo at the end of the day.”

You grinned back. “Then give me a kiss, Cousin Billy. I can wait for the rest, but I need all the kisses now.”

“All the kisses, coming right up,” he said softly, giving you a gentle kiss. “I love you, Y/N. I can’t believe – I never thought I could be enough for someone like you.”

You caressed his cheek, his stubble scratching your fingers deliciously. “Baby, you are the best man I know. Not only are you enough, you’re more than I could ever hope for. I can’t believe you waded through all my shit to get through to me. I love you, and I always will, no matter what.”

Billy squeezed you tight and kissed you. “Oh!”

“Hmm?” you asked, curious at his outburst.

“I mean…we never got a chance to talk about it and you might not even remember, but I asked you to the Birthday Ball.”

“Oh yeah.”

“So, would you go with me?” he asked a bit nervously.

“I already bought a dress,” you said with a grin.

“Yeah?” he said, relieved.

“Yeah. If you ever forgave me I wanted to be ready.”

“Aw, man. I fuckin’ love you,” he said, a little in disbelief.

“I fuckin’ love you back,” you said. “Come to bed with me? I’ll try and keep my hands to myself. Even though you told me I could play with your gun any time I wanted.” You were wiggling your eyebrows at him comically and tickling his ribs.

“Can’t wait. Yeah, let’s go to bed. I haven’t slept right since we fought. I need you, Y/N,” he said a little awkwardly, unable to believe that he was uttering the words out loud but feeling completely right in doing so.

“You have me, always. And I will help you build whatever empire you want.”

“It’s weird, but –” he paused as if searching for words, “I feel like I don’t need an empire now. I still want to start my business, but it doesn’t feel like I need to prove anything. Does that make any sense to you? Because it doesn’t to me.”

“Maybe,” you ventured gently, “did you make those plans a long time ago?”

“Yeah, years ago.”

“Maybe you’d rather build something together for our future than an empire?”

He thought about it and you hoped you hadn’t overestimated your influence. “Yeah, I think that’s it. I think maybe I never knew that there was anything else to want.”

“I didn’t want to want you, but now you’re everything, Bill. You’re my everything.”

Billy was a little choked up at the raw emotion you revealed with your words. “Goddamn, I love you, Y/N,” he whispered harshly. “Let’s get to sleep. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah? What’s tomorrow?” you asked, kissing his throat and chin.

“Tomorrow is the day I get to wake up with the woman of my dreams and have it be a reality,” he said, a look of absolute reverence on his handsome face.

“You’re my dream come true, Bill, so that seems fair,” you responded softly, kissing his chin, then his lips.

Billy smiled and you stood and went up to bed together. He had never known what true contentedness felt like before, but this was how he wanted to feel forever.

You cuddled up together in your bed, peace surrounding you as you drifted off to sleep together, ready to face whatever tomorrow brought – together.


	15. Chapter 15

~Now **  
**

You were smoothing the skirt of your dress down. It was a lovely, silky gown that was elegant in its simplicity. The long, gathered chiffon over satin skirt made the skirt catch the light as it flowed and swirled around your legs as you walked and turned. It was backless and danced along the line of sexy and tasteful, but you were confident that it landed on the side of tasteful. It had side-boob potential so you had used a bit of dress tape to ensure no flashes.

It was the exact shade of red as the stripe on Billy’s dress trousers. You were going to the USMC Birthday Ball on his arm and you were going to wow his superiors with elegance and charm.

He hadn’t seen the dress yet. You had asked him to stay out of the spare bedroom and he had agreed, so you knew that he would be surprised. Bill always kept his word. All he knew was that it was red.

He had bought you some lovely ruby drop earrings that would be your only jewelry, aside from your engagement ring.

~Then

You and Billy had cuddled all night long that first night you spent together as a couple. You had both been exhausted, from both the emotional upheaval of the day and the time apart.

Before you undressed for bed, Billy sat you down and confessed that he had slept with two girls in the days after he had left you. You had cried a little, and he had gotten a bit misty himself, but you knew that he hadn’t yet been yours because you had pushed him away. He swore that he would never look at another woman and you believed him.

You crawled in bed together, snuggling up with your head on his chest and legs tangled. He had stripped down to his underwear and a t-shirt, which was probably a good thing because if you’d had all that skin under your face you might have been able to convince him that it would be fine to make love for the first time that day.

“Bill?” you whispered in the dark, knowing that he was still awake from the way he was stroking your hair and back.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry about the shitty things I said earlier,” you whispered contritely. “I do have a temper but the things I said were inexcusable.”

“No, actually, they were what I needed to hear. I grew up believing that the only thing that mattered was money, that if I got that, everything else would follow. But – fuck, I still can’t believe this, but you want me now. And, I don’t have much to offer you,” he said quietly. “And I’m sorry about the shitty stuff I said, too. I didn’t mean it.”

“Billy, you are everything I could ever hope for in a partner. We’re friends, you’re smart, you’re strong, you’re great with kids, and you’re so hot you woke up my libido single-handed.”

“Yeah?” he asked with a smug grin, his teeth shining in the moonlight.

“Yeah,” you said breathlessly. “I know we’ll be great together, babe.”

“But, I mean…you have a house and your family, and what if they don’t –”

“Hush!” you interrupted. “They will love you because you brought me back to life. Do you think they didn’t notice how happy I was with you? And how miserable I was without you?”

“I thought they were surprised on the phone?” he said, himself surprised.

“They were surprised because they didn’t know we were done fighting. They just knew I ran you off with my stupidity, they already suspected I was in love with you. My Mom actually told me,” you said with a laugh. “I’m such an emotional cripple my mommy had to interpret my feelings for me. She was rubbing it in when she asked me which Billy.”

“So, they already knew and didn’t care?” he said in amazement.

You made circles on his chest. “I don’t understand, honey, which part are they supposed to disapprove of? The part where you survived the foster system because you’re strong and brilliant? Or the part where you enlisted in the Marines, got your education, moved up in rank, became an officer, are a decorated Special Forces soldier? Or the fact that you treat me like a goddamn queen and protect me like I’m the most precious person on the planet? What part of that should my parents object to?”

Billy actually couldn’t talk for a moment. He stopped and started a couple times before he was able to say, “Is that really how you see me?”

You threw off the blankets, straddled his waist, turned on the lights and said, “Look at me, William Russo! You are the best man I know. You are strong and you are a genius and you make me laugh and you make me think and you make me safe. I haven’t felt safe since before I almost died.”

You looked down for a moment and shook your head before meeting his eyes again. “You don’t even know, Bill. He broke me down to the point I couldn’t order in a restaurant. He chose my clothes, my hairstyle, my make-up. I changed my major to something more ‘ladylike’ because he wanted his wife to be accepted in society. He made me into an ornament. It took me a helluva lot longer to recover from that than the physical injuries.”

You smiled happily and waved your arms around excitedly. “But, you! You like my sass. I yelled at you! I screamed at you like a maniac! And I wasn’t scared of you once!” you exclaimed, awe in your voice.

“Even before I liked you, long before I loved you, I was never scared of you. You like me, me! You care about where I want to go for dinner. You ask what I want to watch on TV. I just…” you paused here to gather your thoughts. “I knew that you would never hurt me from the moment you didn’t try to follow me inside when I went to get a vase for the apology flowers. You never touched me that I didn’t instigate. You brought me back, Billy. You weren’t trying to get me into bed, you were just the friend that I needed. And then you became the man that I love.”

Billy actually had tears in his eyes. He was absently stroking your legs on either side of his waist, his touch gentle and soothing even when he was in turmoil. He took a deep, shaky breath and said, “That’s…if I had known…I wanna fucking kill him, Y/N.”

“I know, baby,” you said, leaning forward and kissing him, gently and sweetly. “But you’re worth a thousand of him. I want him in prison, not you.”

“I can’t wait to marry you,” he said in a low, emotional voice.

You smiled like the sun breaking through the clouds. “I can’t either. I want to be your wife and have your babies and just have our life together.”

“Together,” he said, his smile brilliant. “Would it be weird to go jewelry shopping after the police station?”

You shrugged. “Maybe? Who cares! I wanna be with you, and I want the world to know I’m yours, and all the women to know you are mine,” you said with a saucy grin, punctuating the last three words with kisses to his nose.

“That I am, darlin’, that I am.”

~Now

You did a little twist in the mirror, loving the feeling of the silky fabric against your bare legs as it swished back and forth. Your dress had cost a small fortune but it was all worth it to help Billy realize his dream. If having you on his arm and making small talk could help him with that, you were happy to do it. You knew that he considered you to be far more than an ornament; you were his partner in all things.

That was so amazing to you, that a wonderful man who had worked so hard and come so far needed you. That was the best feeling ever.

~Then

You called and made a reservation for dinner with your parents the next day on your way to the police station. Billy was still nervous to be officially meeting them, but not as much as he would have been had you not called them the previous night.

The police station and Prosecutor’s office visits were far less stressful than you expected. Honestly, it was harder on Billy than you.

When the attorney in the DA’s office opened your file, pictures of you from the emergency room were clipped to the top of the folder. His hands gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in so hard his knuckles went white and he had to swallow hard to keep from puking. You had been through hell.

And then he had called you Quasimodo.

You were on the phone with your parents and Maria conferenced, letting them know that the DA’s office didn’t see any reason why Peter wouldn’t go back to prison. The work on your case had been done properly, filed in a timely fashion and had no reason for the judge to question the involvement of the organized crime boss that had compromised the detective on the case at the time. They had simply seized an opportunity to get Peter out temporarily; there was no rabbit to pull out of a hat and make his freedom permanent. The fact that he had been stalking you the very day that he had been freed was not going to play well in court, either.

His rich family might be able to throw up delays and pull strings to get him out for a breather, but he would go back to prison.

After you ended the call, you looked over at Billy and could see that something was bothering him. “Wanna tell me now or should I badger you for the next fifteen years or so?”

He glanced over at you. “Guess I need to work on my poker face, huh?”

You raised one eyebrow at him. “No, you need to get used to sharing your worries with your partner.”

He smiled briefly at that. “I saw the pictures of what he did to you in the file.”

“Oh. Yeah, they didn’t even try to get my good side,” you joked.

“And then when you get up and about, clawing your way out of the hospital and away from the man who controlled you for  _actual years_  and tried to kill you, some other asshole man calls you fucking Quasimodo,” he growled, lip twitching in self-loathing.

“Eh,” you said dismissively. “I don’t want you to feel guilty about that anymore. In a way, it was kind of a good thing.”

Billy shouted a laugh. “I can’t wait to hear how my shitty behavior was a good thing.”

“I was scared all the time, Bill. I was scared of my shadow. I moved back in with my parents, I couldn’t do the steps…but you pissed me off! That was the first real emotion I had felt in literal years. I was so fuckin’ mad at you…and nothing happened! I didn’t get in trouble for feeling or having an opinion! I hadn’t really thought about it before, but…you started saving me that day.”

“So… you’re glad I was an asshole?” he said, thoroughly amused, confused and amazed.

“Yeah, I guess I am. Things go the way they’re supposed to. I met you when I needed to learn how to be a person again. You gave me something to fight for, to show you that I am awesome.”

“You are that,” he said, heart in his eyes. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too, Bill. Now keep your eyes on the road,” you said with a wink.

~Now

You put another coat of lipstick on and made a kissy face. You dropped the lipstick into your clutch purse. Billy never failed to watch enthralled when you put on lipstick. He said that it always made him picture his dick in your mouth and he would start getting hard. You laughed and said he had Pavlov’s Prick.

You and Bill were always laughing. He loved your sense of humor and your intelligence.

You loved everything about him, but the times when he shared his dreams for your future, the dreams that got him through his awful, lonely childhood – at those times, you knew that you were so lucky to find him. When he shared his pain of his childhood you told him that he would be an amazing father because he knew how to make a kid feel loved and appreciated; he was a natural caretaker, after all; he took care of you every minute of every day.

You spritzed some perfume he had gotten you and drifted through the mist. It was almost time to go.

~Then

The base had been so busy. There were service members from every Branch as it was the main base and community for the New York Metropolitan area.

Billy took you along to fill out paperwork but left you in the car while he cleaned out his footlocker and packed. You hadn’t discussed making it permanent but he was definitely staying with you until Peter was back in prison.

After he loaded his stuff into the trunk of his car, you decided to get something to eat. You were looking over the menu and trying to decide what you wanted.

“I’m so hungry I want one of each,” you announced. “What are you going to have?”

“A giant cheeseburger and onion rings,” he said.

“Oh, no kissing!” you joked.

Billy got that smirk of his that you loved on his face. “That so?

You smiled and shook your head. “Nope. You can even kiss me if you’ve been eating raw garlic by the handfuls!”

“We can do that tomorrow,” he said with a wink.

“So, we should probably go online and change your address. And get the rest of the stuff from your storage unit,” you said casually, eyes on your menu to hide the nervousness you suddenly felt.

Billy was silent for a moment. “You sure, babe?” he said quietly.

You looked up and saw the flash of vulnerability that you were pretty sure he only showed you. “Never been more sure of anything in my life, Lieutenant Russo,” you said with a smile.

He smiled back, then nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ll get the guys together to help us.”

“My Dad will probably help out, too.”

“Sounds good.”

Your smile was much easier then.

~Now

Your only undergarment was a red lace thong. You figured if Billy got nervous about mingling with superiors you’d mention that. There was nothing quite like sex to distract your man. And you certainly didn’t mind because he was really really  _really_  good at it.

Better stop thinking about that.

You checked your hair and make-up one last time, looked down at your ridiculously expensive, silver sparkly sandals with red toenails, took a deep breath and headed to the stairs. You were afraid you’d pass out when you saw Bill in his dress uniform. The sandals on stairs were probably not the best idea ever.

~Then

“How do I look?” Billy asked.

You turned from the bathroom mirror where you were applying make-up to see him in the suit he had bought when you went shopping together, and Christ he was gorgeous. “How long do we have to wait to have sex, again?” you asked in response.

“Not nice when I’m going to meet your parents, Y/N,” he said, his eyes blazing with desire.

“Uh huh. Answer the question, Russo,” you growled, looking him up and down.

“Not long,” he said harshly.

You slowly walked over to stand in front of him and straightened his tie. “Good. I do have concerns, though,” you said in a sultry whisper as you trailed your fingers down his tie.

Billy cleared his throat and said, “Like?”

“Should you be bringing a loaded gun to dinner?” you said as your fingers reached his waist.

“Y/N, behave,” he groaned as your fingers tapped his belt.

You stood on tiptoes and kissed him gently. “OK. They’re gonna love you. You’re a magnificent man.”

“Magnificent?” he said, one eyebrow cocked.

“Yes. Amazing, marvelous, fantastic, glorious, splendid, breathtaking, superb, impressive. I could go on.”

“Tell ya what, you finish getting ready and when we get home we can go on all night long,” he said in a husky voice, heart in his eyes.

“That sounds like a smashing plan, my love,” you said with a grin, then pulled your skirt up to adjust your stocking, making sure he saw the garters.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked hoarsely.

“No, just making sure you know that we’re sharing dessert when we get home,” you said with a wink.

Billy grinned and kissed you gently. “I’ll wait downstairs.”

“OK, I won’t be long.”

~Now

You smiled remembering how nervous he was about meeting your parents. Regardless of the Peter debacle, they still trusted your judgement and you knew they would embrace Billy just because he made you so happy.

Of course, you were nervous now, so you knew how he had felt. This was the most important event of the year and you wanted to look perfect and make Bill proud to be marrying you.

~ Then

You had dinner, and if Billy was nervous, he didn’t show it. Your parents loved him; they respected that he worked hard to get where he was, that he was serving the country, protecting you and making solid plans for the future.

There was a gigantic hiccup (Billy referred to it as a colossal clusterfuck) when Peter and his parents showed up in the restaurant. It was entirely too specific to be the coincidence that they would surely claim when questioned.

“Son of a bitch,” your Father swore under his breath.

Billy stiffened and went on alert. “What?”

You smiled at him warmly, not an ounce of fear on your face and said, “Dickhead just got seated with his parents.”

Billy didn’t even flinch. As always, his first thought was of you. “Are you OK?” he asked quietly. “Do you want to leave?”

You smiled at him peacefully. “Nah, I have you with me. I’m fine.”

Billy took your hand and kissed the back of it. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too, Bill.”

He smiled at you, then turned his eyes to your parents. “I love your daughter and I plan to marry her. I hope you don’t object.”

Your parents were a combination of stunned at your calm and elated at your happiness.

“I have no objection,” your Mom said happily.

“Happy to welcome you to the family, son,” your Dad said with a grin. “You helped give us back our daughter. We’re grateful.”

“Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Y/L/N. I’m honored.”

Conversation went smoothly. Your parents were interested in his plans for the future, for his company and for your marriage and family plan.

You finished up your dinner, including a champagne toast to welcome Billy to the family. You knew that Peter was watching but you refused to acknowledge his presence. He had no hold on you and you wanted him to know that.

Billy took a page from your book and excused himself from the table and paid the bill before your Father had a chance to try. You strolled out of the restaurant arm in arm with your love and refused to give Peter or his parents even a moment of your attention.

You had better, more important things to focus on now.

~Now

You smiled at the woman in the mirror, remembering how empowering it had been to ignore Peter that night, and how little it had bothered you to testify against him in the new trial.

The Assistant District Attorney assigned to your case had moved you to the front of the line when she had gotten news that not only had he been stalking you in your home but he and his parents had shown up at the restaurant that night. The fact that four of the witnesses to the home stalking were military and could be deployed at any time was also a catalyst. She wanted their testimonies, because she wanted to tack on new charges.

He was found guilty of all of the previous charges and the new charges. He would not be leaving jail for a good, long time.

The woman in the mirror was someone you could be proud of again. The woman in the mirror deserved to be loved by the Marine downstairs waiting.

You grabbed you sparkly clutch that matched your shoes and walked to the top of the steps.

~Then

You held hands walking to the car after dinner with your parents. Billy couldn’t believe how relaxed you were.

“You’re really OK?” he asked for about the fifth time.

You squeezed his hand and said for about the fifth time, “I’m really OK, honey. You make me safe.”

“You keep me right,” he whispered back, pulling your hand to his mouth and kissing it.

You arrived at his car and he opened the door for you, then kissed you and closed the door when you were seated.

When he had gotten in the driver’s seat and started the car, you giggled and said, “You pissed Dad off. You won’t get away with that little trick again.”

“I learned it from you,” he replied with a grin as he pulled into traffic to go home.

“And I learned it from him.”

“Did I fuck up?” he asked, concerned.

“No, babe, they loved you,” you reassured him, patting his leg. “All they needed to see was how calm I was when Dickhead came in to know.”

“That was pretty goddamn impressive, sweetheart,” he complimented you, fierce pride on his face and in his voice. “You’re gonna make one helluva Marine wife.”

“Ohhhhh let’s go practice being married,” you said in a husky voice, moving your hand up his thigh.

“Fuck, Y/N, I’m driving,” he groaned.

“Just reminding you,” you said, halting your hand’s trip up his leg.

“Babe, I have been picturing those stockings and garters all evening and getting hard. I’m amazed I was able to hold a conversation when all I wanted to do was bend you over the table and fuck you senseless. Believe me when I say that I have not forgotten dessert,” he growled at the end.

“Good, because I have a slight oral fixation where your concerned.”

Billy cleared his throat. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to get my lips and tongue on you.”

“Christ, Y/N,” he groaned.

“I bet you’re delicious,” you said, sliding your skirt up a little so that the little bows above the garter grips at the tops of your stockings were visible. “Mmmm I want you, Bill.”

“Fuck,” he hissed when he saw a bit of your thigh above a stocking. “My next car is gonna be an automatic.”

“Why do you say that?” you asked innocently while you ran a finger up your thigh like you knew Billy wanted to do.

“Because if I didn’t have to shift gears I’d be sliding your panties aside and fingering your pussy, and when you were good and wet I’d lick your juices off my fingers.”

You squirmed and moaned a bit at his words, then turned a bit and slid your skirt up higher. “What panties, Bill?” you asked.

“Fuck,” he repeated. “We’re gonna wind up fucking in the garage if you don’t stop it.”

“No, but I might suck your cock in the car.”

“Christ.”

When you pulled into the garage, Billy didn’t give you the chance to get his dick out. He hurried around and opened the door to the car and helped you out, then immediately tossed you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Bill!” you giggled. “No fair.”

“We’re doing this right, Y/N,” he growled, closing the garage door with the keypad outside, then heading to the back door to go inside, taking his sweet time like he wasn’t carrying a human over his shoulder.

“Hmm you have a really cute ass,” you said, pulling his suit coat aside and fondling said ass. “Have I told you what a cute ass you have?”

He gently smacked you across your behind as he unlocked the back door. “Thanks, darlin’. I can’t wait to see yours jiggle while I bend you over every piece of furniture in this house.”

“Ohhhhh, tonight?” you asked, intrigued.

Billy laughed, heading through the living room to the steps. “No, babe, I think we should probably look at that goal as a marathon instead of a sprint.”

He cleared the doorway to your bedroom and slowly slid you down his front as he returned you to your own feet. You hadn’t even gotten a toe to the floor before you crashed your lips to his and reached for his belt with one hand.

“Fuck, Y/N, I’ve wanted you for so long,” he moaned against your lips.

“Here I am, Bill,” you panted. “Take me.”

You started kissing each other and pulling at clothes, his jacket the first article of clothing to hit the floor, followed by your shoes being kicked across the room. You undid his tie and said, “I think we should hang onto this,” with a naughty grin.

“How did I miss that you’re a sexual deviant?” he growled, spinning you around to unzip your dress and push it down your shoulders.

What was a fairly conservative little black dress in deference to dining with your parents revealed some decidedly sleazy lingerie. You were definitely not wearing panties, you had a black suspender belt holding up black stockings and and a sheer black shelf bra that barely concealed your nipples and had little bows that untied to open the cups completely.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispered when you turned around. “I am so glad I didn’t know you had that on under your dress.”

“Why do you say that?” you purred as you unbuttoned his shirt and kissed every new bit of exposed skin.

“Because I wouldn’t have been able to speak and I might have drooled,” he said as he stroked your back and gripped your ass, pulling your hips closer to rub against his hard cock.

“See these bows?” you said, pointing to your bra cups.

“Uh huh,” he breathed.

“If you open them you get a prize,” you said with a wink.

He reached up to pull the bows and was a little embarrassed to see his hand shake a bit. Your eyes were closed as you waited for him to touch you while you unbuckled his belt and undid his trousers.

You gasped when his thumb flicked your erect nipple, pulling a groan from Billy. When you felt the lacy cup fall away you immediately felt Billy’s mouth descend to worship your breasts, growling as he captured them both in his hands and moved his mouth to lick, bite and suck one nipple while he gently pinched and teased the other.

Billy pulled away from you long enough to toe off his shoes and step out of his trousers, shirt tossed along with his a-shirt underneath, leaving him in his boxer briefs.

“Ohhhhh,” you breathed as you ran your fingertips lightly down his abs and through the dark hair below his belly button and over his cock that was straining at the fabric of his underwear. “That’s a big gun.”

Billy closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, only to have his eyes fly open as you pulled his underwear down and freed his cock, sliding your hands all the way down his legs as you dropped gracefully to your knees. He stepped out of his underwear as you wrapped a hand around his cock, giving it a little squeeze to get his attention.

Billy watched you gaze up at him as you slowly stroked his cock, then lean forward to do a kitten lick to the tip, eyes fluttering closed at the taste of him on your tongue.

“Fuck,” he whispered, looking down to see the woman he loved on her knees with one hand wrapped around his cock and eyes closed in ecstasy. He leaned forward and grabbed your upper arms, pulling you to your feet and kissing you, ravenously taking possession of the woman he had loved to obsession for almost two years. He was afraid if you sucked him he’d come and he needed to get you off a few times first. This had to be perfect.

He kept kissing you, backing you up to the bed and unhooking your bra before he laid you down. “Fuck, babe,” he said, admiring you. “You’re gorgeous.”

You sat up and grabbed his hand to pull him onto the bed with you. “I’m glad you think so, Bill. I’ve always thought you were the most handsome man in the world.”

“Yeah?” he said, almost bashfully.

You smiled and kissed him tenderly, more about love than sex. “Bill, you’re perfect in every way. I love you so much.”

He gave you his sweetest smile. “I love you, too, Y/N.” He kissed you gently, full of promises of forever, until you deepened the kiss and started scraping your fingernails over his shoulders, down his back to his ass, digging in to pull him closer.

Billy let his passion take over. He kissed you, licking your lips, sucking your tongue, teasing inside your mouth until you couldn’t breathe properly. He kissed your jaw, your neck, down your throat, leaving the odd lovebite when he couldn’t help himself.

You gasped and buried your fingers in his hair when he started kissing down to your collarbone, nipping with his teeth and swirling his tongue along the way. One of his hands started venturing ahead, making circles on your tummy and lightly trailing his fingers across your rib cage as he paid tribute to your breasts with his mouth.

When his hand met the fabric of your garter belt, you gasped, “Want me to take that off?”

“No,” he said, his voice breaking a bit before he cleared his throat. “Let’s leave that and the stockings on, can we?”

“Mmmmm you wanna feel the stockings wrapped around you when your cock is inside me?” you purred, causing him to drop his forehead to your chest as he pictured it.

“You have a dirty little mouth. How am I just learning this?” he said, propping his chin on your chest between your breasts.

You opened your mouth to answer and he slipped his hand down to your pussy, making you gasp instead.

“Ohhhhh, tell me baby,” he said, leaning down to catch a nipple between his teeth at the same moment as he slid a finger in your pussy. “Christ, you’re so wet, babe.”

You yelped at the double sensations and tried to pull him up to kiss you, rubbing your stocking-clad toes on the back of his leg.

“Wrong direction, sweetheart,” he informed you, lips following the path his hand had taken until he was circling your belly button with his tongue and biting any skin he could get between his teeth, delighting in every moan, groan or cry you made in response to his ministrations.

He wanted to make you feel more pleasure than you even knew was possible; he wanted perfection for you. He needed your first time making love to be sublime.

You were a moaning mess by the time his mouth came close to where you so desperately needed him. “Baby, please,” you whined. “I need you.”

“Yeah?” he asked, kissing just above your slit as his finger gently explored your pussy, teasing but not relieving. “What do you need from me?”

You lifted your hips, trying to get some friction against your throbbing clit, trying to drive his fingers deeper, trying to get  _anything_  happening. “Please, Bill, eat me, fuck me, I want your cock, make me come!”

“Fuck,” he hissed before he wrapped his arms around your legs and licked your slit from bottom to top, hardening his tongue and darting inside to flick against your clit as he slipped two fingers in and gently started pumping them in and out, rubbing your walls with curled fingers and finding the spots that made you moan and cry out.

He watched your expressions as he went down on you, so hard he could probably hit a home run with his dick. You were running one hand over your breasts and stomach, the other in his hair, alternately stroking and pulling. When he felt you start to come apart he pulled back a couple times, wanting your orgasm to be epic.

He finally let you tumble over the edge and you screamed and bucked and thrashed so hard that he was in awe of your passion.

He did this. He made you feel this.

When you finally came back down to earth, Billy kissed his way back up your body to your lips. You pulled him into a deep kiss, showing him how amazing he was before telling him. “Baby, I didn’t even think that was…I mean, that was like from a romance novel. You’re a god.”

“A god? That might be going a bit far?” he said with faux humility.

“Bill, I truly never knew…just wow,” you stammered.

“I’m not done with you, sweetheart,” he said in a lusty growl.

“Oh, thank Christ,” you moaned, grabbing his hair and kissing him again. “I think I know just the holster for your gun.”

He got his pervy smirk and said, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Might be a tight fit, though. That’s a big gun.”

“I’ll be careful. Wouldn’t want it going off before I’m ready, either.”

“Bill?”

“Yeah?”

“Get a condom and get inside me,” you ordered.

“Yes, ma'am,” he said with a grin, popping up to his knees and reaching over to his nightstand where he had put the box, grabbing one and ripping it open with his teeth.

You got to your knees, too, running your hands up his thighs and over to stroke his cock. You took the condom from him and slid the tip on and Billy put his hand over yours and you rolled it on the rest of the way together.

You scooted forward to press against Billy, both of you rising to your knees and pressed together from chests down, then you spread your knees to either side of his and he lowered himself back to his haunches as you guided yourself onto his cock slowly.

“Fuck, Bill, you’re so big,” you moaned, wrapping your arms around him as you adjusted to his size. “You fill me up so – mmmm – so good.”

Billy gritted his teeth as he restrained himself from moving too quickly. He mentally repeated that he would accept nothing less than perfection for you.

You were finally ready to move, sliding up slowly as Billy grabbed your ass and opened you wider, making you moan and squirm and his cock drive even deeper. You started sliding up and down rhythmically, Billy thrusting up to meet you. You were kissing his lips, his throat, his shoulders, as was Bill licking and sucking whatever skin he could reach.

When you leaned back a bit, Billy’s cock started to hit you in that perfect spot that drove you crazy earlier. You felt the heavenly warmth rushing through you and Billy felt your pussy walls begin to flutter. You were moaning and gasping in pleasure.

“Gonna come for me baby? Gonna come all over my cock?”

“Yes, Billy, yes,” you shouted, mindless with passion as you came even harder than you had the first time, squeezing Billy so hard that he grabbed your hips and slammed into you a few times, grunting as your sweaty skin slapped together and your nails left a couple bloody trails on his shoulders before you just let go and Billy held your bodies close as he came harder than he ever had in his life.

You were basically flopped over Billy’s arms, still twitching and panting. He had his head thrown back and was breathing like he had just run a marathon. After a moment he pulled you back up against his chest and you wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him gently.

“I love you so much, Y/N,” he whispered.

“I love you, too, Bill. So so much,” you said, hugging him close.

He lifted your hips and slid out of you, both of you groaning at the sensation, then laid you down on the bed. He stood on shaky legs, smiled and kissed you and said, “Be right back.”

You turned over and smiled as you watched Billy’s tush as he walked away. You had always been a fan of his ass, even when you had hated him you could never deny that he was gorgeous.

Now you knew there was so much more to him. He was fiercely protective of you, yet gentle and kind with you. He was polite and respectful, yet had demanded rather than asked for your parents’ blessing. He had been enraged with Peter showing up at the restaurant and yet had put that aside to make sure you were OK. He had been completely done with you because you couldn’t open up to him, yet he had come flying back when you had needed him.

Had anyone ever needed him before?

You remembered how you had told him you needed him when you had been in shock over Peter’s release. He had sounded so happy, so proud.

He returned, so perfectly handsome and completely comfortable in his birthday suit. You smiled softly at him, so full of love for this man who saw you and allowed you to see him.

“I love you, William Russo,” you said, voice full of emotion.

He smiled at you, a question in his eyes, but he was quick to reply. “I love you, too.” He laid down next to you, both on your sides, legs tangled. “You OK?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m great!” You reassured him quickly. “I was just thinking of how much more there is to you than you let most people see, and how honored I am that you let me see the real you,” you said.

“Thank you for making me want to be better to deserve you,” he said earnestly.

“Oh, Bill,” you whispered, caressing his cheek and kissing him gently. “You were always good enough. Thank you for waiting for me to let you in.”

He smiled. “So, I know that I kind of informed your parents we were getting married. I hope that was OK.”

You chuckled. “Yeah, I think my Dad liked it. He always said that I needed a man who wasn’t afraid of my strength so he didn’t have to beat it down.”

“Fuck that. You’re not weak, Y/N. Knowing all you’ve been through and that you trust me…I am beyond amazed at that.”

“I trust you more than anyone, and I respect you and need you and have faith in you. And Bill, I am so proud to be with you,” you said fervently.

He took a deep breath and kissed you, then reached back into the drawer of his nightstand. “I know we’ve talked about getting married, but I’ve never actually asked you. Y/N, will you marry me?” he asked nervously, popping open a red satin ring box.

You gasped in surprise, barely looking at the ring before you threw yourself on top of Billy and kissed his face all over, punctuating each kiss with an adamant, “Yes!”

Billy was laughing at your antics, finally setting the ring down and capturing your face and giving you a proper kiss. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too, Bill. You make me so happy.”

“You make me happy, too,” he said with a grin. “Did you happen to notice I bought you a ring?”

“Oh, shit, I didn’t even notice. I just want you,” you said, kissing his nose.

“Well, I want everyone to know we’re engaged, so…” he said, retrieving the ring box and showing it to you.

The ring was a platinum filigree engagement ring with a gorgeous emerald cut diamond and rubies on the band. “Bill, it’s gorgeous. That diamond is freaking huge! My left arm is going to get muscular!”

“Do you like it?” he asked with that adorable vulnerability that you were pretty sure he only let you see.

“It’s beautiful, but Bill, I’d marry you with a ring from a gumball machine.”

He pulled you into his arms and said, “I know you would, and I love you for it, but I want you to have the best of everything.”

You pecked his nose. “I have from the first time you kissed me,” you said. “But I believe you promised me all night long?”

“As you wish,” he said, rolling you over to kiss you, pressing against you as you ran your hands over his skin. “Best dessert I’ve ever had.”

~Now

Billy was nervous. Which was utterly ridiculous, since he was waiting on his fiance and the woman that he slept with every night and the woman that just this morning he had tickled until you farted in front of him for the first time. He smiled at that. What a relationship milestone.

He heard footsteps and turned the TV off and hopped to his feet, walking over to the bottom of the steps.

And felt like he had to be hallucinating. There was no way this beautiful, amazing woman was marrying him. This elegant, sophisticated lady could not possibly be content to be a gutter rat’s wife?

Then you gifted him with the most brilliant smile and descended the stairs to meet him.

“Lieutenant Russo, you are the most handsome Marine ever to grace the uniform. I am so proud of you and will be so proud to be your wife,” you said with a dreamy smile.

“Y/N, I still can’t believe you love me and want to marry me. I can’t wait until we are legally married, but know that in my heart I am already completely devoted to you, forever,” he replied seriously.

“In three months, Bill,” you said with a grin.

“You sure you don’t want to wait a little longer and have a bigger wedding?” he asked as he draped your silk velvet Jacquard wrap over your shoulders and led you out to the waiting chauffeur.

“Nope! Don’t need a huge thing. I’d be perfectly content to elope. I just want us to be married.”

Billy helped you into the limousine, closing the partition between the chauffeur and the back.

“Do you have naughty intentions, my love?” you asked him with a gleam in your eye.

“My intentions where you’re concerned are always honorable but usually can be described as naughty, yes,” he purred. “And now I gotta know what you have on under that dress, darlin’.”

“Do I ask what you’re wearing under your clothes?” you asked  faux-indignantly.

“All the time. Then you usually visually verify,” he said with a grin.

“This is true. Well, I’m wearing panties.”

“And?” he asked as he lifted a foot into his lap and slid his hand up your calf.

“And I love you?”

“Do you mean to tell me that under this beautiful dress is my beautiful fiance wearing only a pair of panties?” he said as he slowly slid his hand further up your leg.

“What else do I need under my skirt, love?”

“My face?” he replied with an evil grin.

“After, Bill,” you said with a giggle. “And I get to play with your service revolver, right?”

Billy laughed at that. “You look lovely and elegant, Y/N. You’re going to be the most beautiful woman there.”

“I have to be to go with the most handsome Marine ever. I bet if you weren’t so good at your job they’d have you on recruiting posters. Female enlistment would increase exponentially.”

Billy took a deep breath and said, “If tonight goes well it will be the first step toward me having a new job.”

“Tonight will go perfectly. You’ll see. You’re an impressive man, William Russo, sexy uniform or no. Actually, for me, I prefer you in no uniform,” you said, wiggling your eyebrows.

“After,” he whispered, taking your hand and kissing the back. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Bill,” you assured him. “Now, let’s go impress some officers.”

 


End file.
